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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

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LITTLE     SUNBEAMS. 


III. 
LILY    NORRIS'    ENEMY, 


§g  i\t  Burnt  %Kfym. 


i. 

LITTLE   SUNBEAMS. 

1.  Belle  Powers'  Locket 1 00 

2.  Dora's  Motto 1.00 

3.  Lily  Norris'  Enemy 1.00 

4.  Jessie's  Parrot 1.00 

6.  Mamie's  Watchword 1.00 

II. 

THE     BESSIE     BOOKS. 

Six  vols,  in  a  neat  box.  $7.50. 
The  volumes  also  sold  separately ;  viz. :  Bessie  at  the  Seaside ;  City, 
Friends;  Mountains  ;  School;  Travels,  at  $>1  25  each. 
"  Really,  it  makes  the  heart  younger,  warmer,  better,  to  bathe  it 
afresh  in  such  familiar,  natural  scenes,  where  benevolence  of  most 
practical  and  blessed  utility  is  seen  developing  itself,  from  first  to  last, 
in  such  delightful  symmetry  and  completeness  as  may,  and  we  hope  will, 
secure  many  imitators."  —  Watchman  and  Reflector. 

III. 

THE   FLOWERETS. 

A  Series  of  Stories  on  the  Commandments. 

Six  vols,  in  a  neat  box.     $3.60. 

The  vols,  can  also  be  had  separately  ;  viz. :  1.  Violet's  Idol ;  2.  Daisy's 
Work;  3.  Rose's  Temptation;  4.  Lily's  Lesson ;  5.  Eyacinthe  and  her 
Brothers  ;   6.  Pinkie  and  the  Rabbits,  at  60  cents  each. 

"The  child-world  we  are  here  introduced  to  is  delightfully  real. 
The  children  talk  and  act  so  naturally  that  we  feel  real  live  children 
must  have  sat  for  their  portraits."  —  Baltimore  Christian  Advocate. 


Lily  Morris. 


Frontis. 


LILY  NORRIS'  ENEMY. 


"whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it 
with  thy  might." 


BY 


JOANNA   H.  MATHEWS, 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  "  BESSIE  BOOKS  "  AND  THE  "  FLOWERETS 


NEW    YORK: 
ROBERT  CARTER  AND   BROTHERS, 

530  Broadway. 

1883. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1871,  by 

ROBERT  CARTER  AND  BROTHERS, 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


CAMBRIDGE  : 
PRESS  OF  JOEN  WILSON  AND  SON. 


( 
cV 


DEDICATED 

TO 

"AUNT   JOSIE'S   DAISY," 

THE   SWEETEST    LITTLE    "  SUNBEAM "    THAT    EVER    BRIGHTENED 
THE  CLOUDS  OE  A  DARK  AND  SORROWFUL  WINTER. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  The  "  Quaker  Lady  " 9 

II.  A  Monkey,  a  Puppy,  and  a  Beggar    .    .  27 

III.  The  Silver  Inkstand 48 

IV.  Lily's  Proverb  Picture 69 

V.  Promising 84 

VI.  But  not  Performing 100 

VII.  What  came  of  that 120 

VIII.  A  Little  Fable 142 

IX.  Saturday  Morning's  Work 156 

X.  Saturday  Afternoon's  Play 177 

XI.  A  Sad  Accident 198 

XII.  Lily's  New  Resolve 220 


LILY     NOKRIS'     ENEMY 


I. 


THE  "QUAKER  LADY.' 


jF  LILY  NORRIS  isn't  just  the  most 
provoking  child  that  ever  lived ! " 
said  Maggie  Bradford,  indignantly. 
"  Yes,  I  b'lieve  she  just  is,"  assented  Bessie. 
"  Why,"  said  Mrs.  Bush,  who  was  that  day 
making  a  visit  to  Maggie's  and  Bessie's  mam- 
ma, "  how  is  this  ?  Lily  the  most  provoking 
child  that  ever  lived !  I  thought  Lily  was  one 
of  your  best  friends,  and  that  you  were  so  fond 
of  her." 

"Yes,  Aunt  May,  so  we  are,"  said  Maggie. 


io  Lily  Norrif  Enemy. 

"  We're  very  fond  of  Lily  indeed ;  she's  one  of 
our  dearly  beloveds,  and  we  like  to  have  her 
with  us ;  but  for  all  that,  she's  very  trying  to 
our  patience." 

"  Yes,"  sighed  Bessie,  "  I  think  she's  try- 
inger  than  any  child  we  know ;  and  yet  she's 
hardly  ever  naughty, — really  naughty,  I  mean." 

"  How  does  she  try  you  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Rush, 
though  she  believed  she  could  herself  have 
answered  as  to  the  cause  of  complaint. 

"  She  puts  off  so,"  said  Bessie.  "  Aunt  May, 
I  think  she's  the  greatest  put-offer  we  ever 
saw ;  and  sometimes  it  makes  things  so  hard 
to  bear.  We  try  not  to  be  provoked  'cause 
we  love  her  so ;  but  sometimes  we  can't  help 
being  a  little.  I  b'lieve  it  troubles  people 
as  much  as  if  she  was  real  naughty  in  some 
way." 

"  Yes,  procrastination  is  a  very  troublesome 
fault,"  said  Mrs.  Rush. 

"Not  a  fault,  is  it,  Aunt  May?"  asked 
Maggie.  "  I  thought  it  was  only  a  habit  of 
Lily's." 


The  "Quaker  Lady."  n 

"And  Lily  is  a  pretty  good  child,"  said 
Belle  Powers.  "  She  is  mischievous,  and 
makes  us  laugh  in  school  sometimes;  but  I 
b'iieve  that  is  about  all  the  naughty  things  she 
does,  and  I  think  that  is  a  pretty  good  account 
for  one  child." 

"Putting  off  is  not  being  naughty,  is  it, 
Aunt  May  ? "  pleaded  Bessie,  unwilling,  even 
amid  her  vexation,  to  have  one  of  her  favorite 
playmates  thus  blamed. 

"  Well,  darling,"  answered  Mrs.  Rush,  "  I 
fear  that  procrastination  and  a  want  of  punc- 
tuality must  be  considered  as  rather  serious 
faults.  I  see  you  are  vexed  and  troubled  now ; 
why,  I  cannot  tell,  more  than  that  Lily  has 
caused  it  in  some  way ;  and  I  think  that  any 
habit  which  needlessly  tries  and  irritates  other 
people  can  be  called  nothing  less  than  a  fault, 
and  a  bad  one,  too.    What  is  the  matter  now  ?  " 

"  Why,"  said  Bessie,  "  you  see  we  are  all 
going  to  the  party  at  Miss  Ashton's  this  after- 
noon, and  Lily  was  to  be  here  at  four  o'clock 
to  go  with  us ;   and  when  grandmamma  was 


12  Lily  JVornV  Enemy. 

going  home  just  now,  she  said  she  would  take 
us  all  around  in  her  carriage ;  but  Lily  was 
not  here,  and  we  did  not  like  to  go  without 
her,  and  grandmamma  could  not  wait.  But 
grandmamma  said  the  carriage  should  come 
back  for  us,  and  it  has  ;  and  mamma  says  it  is 
twenty  minutes  past  four,  and  there  Lily  has 
not  come  yet,  and  we  don't  know  what  to  do, 
and  we  can't  help  being  provoked." 

"  It  is  just  good  enough  for  her  to  go,  and 
leave  her  to  come  after  by  herself,"  said  Belle, 
with  a  pout. 

"  But  you  see  that  would  not  be  so  very 
polite,"  said  Bessie ;  "  and  we  have  to  be  that 
even  if  we  are  pretty  provoked." 

"I  should  think  people  might  be  punctual 
when  they're  going  to  a  party,  anyway,"  said 
Maggie,  impatiently.  "  The  idea  of  being  so 
wasteful  of  a  party!  I  never  heard  of  such 
foolishness!  I  should  think  that  people  who 
couldn't  be  punctual  at  parties,  and  go  just 
as  soon  as  they  are  invited,  didn't  desert 
to  go  at  all." 


The  "Quaker  Lady."  13 

"I  should  think  her  mother  would  send 
her  in  time,"  said  Mabel  Walton,  Belle's 
cousin. 

"  Well,  I  suppose  she  would,"  said  Maggie ; 
"  but  you  know  she  has  gone  away  just  now, 
and  there's  no  one  at  home  to  make  Lily  think 
about  the  time.  Mrs.  Norris  doesn't  have 
such  a  bad  habit  herself,  and  she  don't  like 
Lily  to  have  it  either.  She  is  always  talking 
to  her  about  it." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do,  Maggie  ? " 
asked  Bessie,  as  she  saw  her  sister  take  up  a 
pencil  and  a. bit  of  paper,  and  carry  them  to 
Mrs.  Rush. 

"lam  going  to  ask  Aunt  May  to  do  a  sum 
for  me,"  said  Maggie.  "  Aunt  May,  will  you 
please  do  the  sum  of  four  times  twenty  min- 
utes, and  tell  me  how  much  it  is  ? " 

"  I  do  not  want  the  paper,  Maggie,"  said 
Mrs.  Rush,  smiling  as  she  saw  what  Maggie 
would  be  at.  "  Four  times  twenty  minutes 
are  eighty  minutes,  or  one  hour  and  twenty 
minutes." 


14  Lily  JVorrzs'  Enemy. 

"  Why  do  you  want  to  know  that  ? "  asked 
Belle. 

"  I'm  going  to  tell  Lily  a  story  when  she 
comes,  and  let  her  take  lesson  by  it  for  her- 
self," said  Maggie,  rather  severely ;  the  severity 
being  intended,  however,  for  the  delinquent 
Lily,  and  not  for  Belle. 

"  Children,"  said  Mrs.  Bradford,  coming 
into  the  room  just  at  this  moment,  "  I  do  not 
want  you  to  keep  the  carriage  waiting.  Since 
Lily  is  not  here  you  must  go  without  her.  It 
is  long  after  the  time  fixed." 

"  Oh  yes,  mamma,  we  know  that ;  I  should 
think  we  might,"  said  Maggie,  with  a  sigh  of 
despair. 

"  There's  the  door-bell  now,"  said  Bessie, 
who  was  more  patient  under  her  afflictions 
than  the  other  children.  "  Maybe  that  is 
Lily." 

So  it  proved ;  and  a  moment  later  Lily  was 
shown  into  the  room,  followed  by  her  nurse. 
A  chorus  of  exclamations  and  reproaches 
greeted  the  little  new-comer;   but  she  took 


The  li  Quaker  Lady  J1  15 

them  all  with  her  usual  careless  good-nature, 
though  she  did  look  half  ashamed,  too.  Maggie, 
alone,  mindful  of  the  arrow  she  held  in 
reserve,  had  nothing  to  say  beyond  a  word 
or  two  of  welcome. 

"  Yes,  just  what  I  was  saying  to  Miss  Lily, 
that  the  young  ladies  would  *be  disappointed  to 
be  kept  waiting,  ma'am,"  said  the  nurse,  speak- 
ing to  Mrs.  Bradford;  "  and  I  came  in  to  beg 
you'd  not  think  it  was  my  fault.  I  was  at  Miss 
Lily  a  half-hour  before  I  could  coax  her  to 
come  and  be  dressed ;  and  I  knew  she'd  be  late 
and  vex  them." 

"  Oh,  never  mind.  You  can  go  now,"  said 
Lily,  carelessly.     "  We'll  be  time  enough." 

"  Come,  let  us  go  now,"  said  Maggie,  with 
an  expression  which  showed  that  she  by  no 
means  agreed  with  Lily  that  it  was  "  time 
enough  ;  "  and  good-by  being  said  to  mamma 
and  Mrs.  Rush,  she  led  the  way  from  the  room, 
followed  by  the  rest  of  the  young  party,  who 
were  soon  seated  snugly  in  the  carriage. 
"  Lily,"  said  Maggie,  as  soon  as  they  had 


1 6  Lily  NorriJ  Enemy. 

fairly  started,  "I  have  a  story  to  tell  you 
about  punctuality." 

"  Pooh !  I  don't  want  to  hear  about  your 
old  punctuality,"  said  Lily.  "  Everybody  just 
bothers  me  'most  to  death  about  being  punctual. 
Tom  has  been  making  a  fuss  about  it  just 
now." 

"  But  it  is  a  story, — one  of  Maggie's  stories," 
said  Belle,  who  thought  it  quite  incredible  that 
any  one  should  decline  an  opportunity  of  hear- 
ing one  of  those  interesting  and  valuable 
narratives. 

"  Let's  hear  it  then,"  said  Lily. 

"  It  is  not  a  story  of  my  own  making  up," 
said  Maggie,  with  the  solemnity  which  befitted 
a  teacher  of  moral  lessons ;  "  but  it  is  very  inter- 
esting, and  may  do  some  good,  if  people  choose 
to  let  it.  But  as  there  are  '  none  so  deaf  as  those 
who  won't  hear,'  so  I  suppose  there  are  none  so 
hard  to  teach  as  those  who  won't  be  taught." 

"  But  what  is  the  story  ? "  asked  Belle. 

"  The  story  is  this,"  answered  Maggie. 
"  Once  thirteen  ladies  went  to  a  meeting,  or 


The  "Jguaker  Lady."9  17 

ought  to  go  to  a  meeting.  Well,  twelve  of 
them  came  at  the  right  time  to  the  house 
of  a  very  wise  old  Quaker  lady,  where  the 
meeting  was ;  but  the  thirteenth  lady  did 
not  come  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  she 
ought  to.  So  the  other  ladies  were  as  tired  as 
they  could  be,  'cause  they  couldn't  begin  to  do 
what  they  had  to  do  without  her  —  but  I 
would  have  if  I'd  been  there  —  and  some  of 
them  yawned  —  which  wasn't  polite  for  them 
to  do,  but  they  could  hardly  help  it  —  and  some 
went  to  sleep,  and  some  had  headaches,  and 
one  who  was  sitting  in  a  breeze  from  the  window, 
where  she  didn't  like  to  sit,  took  cold,  and  had 
a  sore  throat  and  a  toothache,  and  she  had  to 
go  and  have  her  tooth  out ;  which  was  all  the 
fault  of  the  unpunctual  lady,  and  I  should 
think  she'd  be  very  much  ashamed  of  herself." 

"  So  should  I,"  said  Mabel,  as  Maggie  paused 
to  take  breath. 

"  What's  the  rest  of  the  story  ? "  asked 
Bessie,  impatient  of  delay  in  such  a  thrilling 
tale 


i8  Lily  JVornY  Enemy, 

"  Well,  when  she  came  in,"  continued  Mag- 
gie, giving  point  to  her  story  by  the  look  she 
fixed  upon  Lily,  — "  when  she  came  in,  after 
doing  such  a  lot  of  mischief,  she  didn't  seem 
to  think  it  was  any  great  harm  after  all ;  but 
she  just  said,  '  Ladies,  I  am  sorry  I  kept  you 
waiting,  but  it  is  only  a  quarter  of  an  hour/ 
Then  the  wise  old  Quaker  lady  stood  up  and 
looked  very  severe  at  her,  and  she  said,  '  Friend, 
thee '  —  thee  is  the  way  Quakers  say  you  — 
'  Friend,  thee  has  wasted  three  hours  of  time 
that  did  not  belong  to  thee.  Here  are  twelve 
of  us,  and  a  quarter  of  an  hour  for  each  makes 
three  hours,  and  you  —  thee,  I  mean  —  had  no 
right  to  do  it,  and  thee  ought  to  be  ashamed  of 
yourself.'  And  the  lady  was  ashamed  of  her- 
self, 'cause  it  made  her  feel  horridly  to  be 
talked  to  that  way  before  so  many  people  ;  and 
she  never  did  so  again,  which  was  a  great 
blessing  to  every  one  who  knew  her,  because 
she  made  herself  a  great  inconvenience." 

And  here  Maggie  closed  her  story,  which  she 
had  one  day  lately  found  in  some  book  or  paper, 


The  "£>uaker  Lady."  19 

and  had  brought  it  up  on  this  occasion  for 
Lily's  benefit,  adding  to  it  sundry  embellish- 
ments of  her  own,  which,  as  she  thought,  made 
it  more  telling  and  serviceable. 

"  But,"  said  Lily,  who  took  the  moral  to  her- 
self as  it  was  intended  she  should  do,  "  but 
we're  not  a  meeting,  and  you're  not  a  Quaker 
lady,  Maggie.     It's  only  a  party." 

"  Only  a  party !  "  echoed  Maggie,  in  an 
aggrieved  tone,  which  told  that  this  was  adding 
insult  to  injury  ;  "  she  says,  '  Only  a  party '  ! 
Now,  Lily,  I  don't  want  to  hurt  your  feelings, 
but  I  just  want  to  tell  you  something." 

And  Maggie  held  up  the  bit  of  paper  on 
which  she  had  taken  the  pains  to  note  down 
the  sum  Mrs.  Rush  had  done  for  her,  lest  she 
should  forget  the  number  of  minutes. 

"  You  kept  us  waiting  more  than  twenty 
minutes,  Lily.  Miss  Ashton  invited  us  at  four, 
and  you  did  not  come  till  twenty  minutes  after  ; 
and  there  are  four  of  us  besides  yourself,  so 
there's  one  whole  hour,  and  forty  minutes,  — 
which  is  'most  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  —  one 


20  Lily  JVornY  Enemy. 

whole  hour  and  forty  minutes  of  party  wasted, 
and  only  twenty  minutes  of  it  was  your  own." 

"  And  I'm  sure  it's  a  great  deal  harder  to  have 
a  party  wasted  than  it  is  a  meeting,"  said  Belle. 

"  I  never  thought  about  it,"  said  Lily,  by  no 
means  offended,  but  considerably  astonished 
at  the  way  in  which  her  short-comings  were 
brought  home  to  her.  "  I  never  thought  of 
that,  and  I'm  real  sorry.  I'll  never  do  it 
again." 

"  Did  the  lady  with  the  toothache  ever  tell 
the  late  lady  she  made  her  have  it  ? "  asked 
Bessie." 

"  Well,  I'm  not  very  sure,"  said  Maggie,  not 
willing  to  confess  to  total  ignorance  on  this 
subject ;  "  but  I  think  she  did." 

"  Then  she  wasn't  very  kind,"  said  Bessie. 
"  It  would  have  been  kinder  if  she  hadn't 
spoken  about  it.  She  had  lesson  enough.  I 
think  that  old  Quaker  lady  was  pretty  cross, 
and  I'm  glad  she's  not  my  grandmamma." 

"  Maggie,"  said  Lily,  as  the  carriage  drew 
up  at  Miss  Ashton's  door,  "  couldn't  you  make 


The  "Shiaker  Lady."  21 

me  a  proverb  picture  about  putting  off?  I 
would  like  one  ever  so  much." 

For  Lily  took  great  delight  in  these  same 
"  proverb  pictures,"  and  was  very  glad  to 
receive  one  even  when  it  held  up  her  own  fail- 
ings to  reproof. 

"Is  there  any  proverb  about  putting  off ?" 
asked  Belle. 

"  Yes,  to  be  sure,"  said  Lily.  "  There's 
'  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof.'  " 

"Um  —  I  don't  know,"  said  Maggie,  doubt- 
ful if  this  adage  were  quite  applicable  to  the 
case  in  question.  "  I  don't  think  that  will  do  ; 
but  if  we  can't  find  one,  we'll  make  one,  and 
draw  you  a  proverb  picture  about  it.  I'll  ask 
mamma  if  she  knows  of  any  that  will  do." 

"  And  make  it  for  me  very  soon,  will  you  ?  " 
said  Lily,  jumping  from  the  carriage  with  the 
assistance  of  Mrs.  Ashton's  maid,  who  had 
come  to  take  them  out.  "  I'll  try  to  have  it 
do  me  some  good." 

This  was  encouraging,  and  Maggie's  imagina- 
tion was  at  once  put  to  work ;  but  not  to  much 


22  Lily  JVorris'  Enemy, 

purpose  for  this  evening,  since  as  yet  she  knew 
of  no  proverb  that  would  answer  for  the  object 
she  had  in  view. 

Our  young  party  was  greeted  with  a  chorus 
of  welcome,  not  only  from  Mrs.  and  Miss 
Ashton,  but  also  from  the  other  little  girls  who 
had  all  arrived  before  them ;  for  children  are 
generally  punctual  to  such  engagements, 
whatever  their  elders  may  be.  Indeed,  they 
usually  prefer  to  be  before,  rather  than  after 
the  time. 

"  How  late  you  came ! " 

"  What  kept  you  ?  " 

"It's  more  than  half-past  four !  " 

"  We've  been  here  ever  so  long." 

u  We've  been  waiting  for  you  "  —  and  such 
like  exclamations  met  them  on  all  sides. 

"  It's  my  fault,"  said  Lily.  "  I  was  not 
ready  in  time,  and  kept  them  waiting." 

"  0  Lily ! "  said  Carrie  Ransom.  "  You 
always  do  keep  people  waiting." 

"  Well,  I  can't  help  it,"  said  Lily. 

"  Yes,  you  can,"  said  Gracie  Howard ;  "  at 


The  "giiaker  Lady?  23 

least,  you  could  if  you  would  do  tilings  in  time ; 
but  you  never  will." 

"  I'll  grow  out  of  it  when  I'm  bigger,"  said 
Lily.  "  People  'most  always  cure  up  their 
faults  before  they're  grown  up." 

"  Not  if  they  don't  take  pains  with  them  when 
they're  little,"  said  Bessie,  solemnly.  "  Lily,  if 
you  keep  on  per-cas-ter-nating  now,  maybe  you 
won't  be  able  to  help  it  when  you're  grown  up, 
and  then  people  will  be  provoked  with  you." 

"  Were  you  much  provoked  with  me  to-day?  " 
asked  Lily. 

"  Um-m,  pretty,"  said  Bessie ;  "  but  we're 
quite  over  it  now." 

"  Well,  I  don't  care  much  then,"  was  Lily's 
thought ;  but  she  said  aloud,  "  I  don't  think  it 
can  do  much  harm  when  we're  little.  You  see 
we're  all  here  now.  But  I  will  begin  pretty 
soon  to  correct  myself  of  it." 

"  She  had  better  begin  to-day,"  thought 
Bessie ;  but  no  more  was  said  on  the  subject, 
and  they  were  all  soon  engaged  in  a  merry 
game  of  play. 


24  Lily  JVbrris9  Enemy, 

The  party  passed  off  pleasantly,  so  pleasantly 
that  Maggie  found  more  and  more  cause  fur 
regret  that  she  and  her  own  particular  friends 
had  been  unjustly  defrauded,  as  she  considered 
it,  of  so  large  a  portion  of  it ;  but  she  was  too 
forgiving  and  good-natured  to  reproach  Lily 
any  farther,  especially  as  Bessie  privately 
confided  to  her  that  she  did  not  like  "  that 
severe  old  Quaker  lady  one  bit,  and  am  very 
glad  that  she  is  not  one  of  my  friends." 

Maggie  thought  that  perhaps  she  had  been 
rather  severe  herself,  and  took  pains  to  be  espe- 
cially agreeable  to  Lily  for  the  rest  of  the  day. 

But  perhaps  this  ready  forgetfulness  of  their 
vexation  was  not  the  best  thing  for  heedless, 
light-hearted  Lily.  At  first  she  had  felt  a  little 
self-reproachful,  but  when  she  saw  the  other 
children  forget  their  momentary  displeasure, 
she  thought  her  own  troublesome  want  of 
punctuality  did  not  matter  much  after  all ; 
they  were  all  glad  and  happy  now,  and  some 
of  these  days  she  would  try  to  break  herself 
of  this  bad  habit. 


The  "  Shiaker  Lady."  25 

Ah !  you  see,  that  was  Lily's  way ;  it  was 
always  "  one  of  these  days,"  "  some  other 
time,"  "  by  and  by ; "  and  here  lay  the  root  of 
the  trouble  which  proved  so  vexatious  to  those 
about  her,  and  very  often  to  herself. 

"  Mamma,"  said  Maggie,  as  soon  as  they 
reached  home,  "  do  you  know  of  any  proverb 
that  would  be  a  good  correction  of  the  habit  of 
putting  off,  and  never  being  ready  in  time  ?  " 

Mrs.  Bradford  laughed. 

"  Yes,  I  think  I  do,  Maggie.  What  do  you 
want  to  do  with  it  ?  " 

"To  make  a  proverb  picture  for  Lily, 
mamma;  she  wants  us  to.  She  likes  our 
proverb  pictures  very  much,  and  never  is  pro- 
voked when  we  give  her  one.  And  I  think  I 
shall  write  her  a  piece  of  poetry  about  it  too. 
What  is  the  proverb,  mamma  ?  " 

"  I  will  tell  you  in  the  morning,  dear." 

"  Why  not  to-night,  mamma  ?  " 

"  Because  I  want  you  to  go  to  sleep  now, 
Maggie.  If  I  tell  you  a  proverb  to-night,  you 
will  lie  awake,  turning  it  over  in  your  mind,  and 


26  Lily  JVorrz's9  Enemy. 

making  verses  and  pictures  for  it ;  and  I  do  not 
wish  you  to  do  that.     Wait  till  morning,  dear." 

Maggie  submitted,  like  the  docile  and  obedi- 
ent little  girl  she  was,  though  she  was  disap- 
pointed ;  for  as  mamma  knew,  she  would  have 
liked  to  spend  part  of  her  proper  sleeping  time 
in  composing  verses,  and  inventing  pictures  for 
Lily's  benefit. 

"  Shall  you  make  the  poetry  a  divine  song, 
or  a  moral  poem  ?  "  asked  Bessie,  who  took  the 
greatest  possible  interest  and  pride  in  Maggie's 
poetical  attempts. 

"  I  think  I'll  mix  the  two,"  said  Maggie, 
after  a  little  deliberation.  "  It  might  be  better, 
because  Lily  don't  care  much  to  read  things 
that  are  very  pious ;  but  she  needs  them  a 
little.     Yes,  I'll  do  that." 

And  now,  according  to  mamma's  orders, 
they  ceased  talking  ;  and  Maggie,  obeying  not 
only  the  letter,  but  the  spirit  of  her  mother's 
command,  tried  to  put  from  her  all  thought  of 
the  lesson  she  was  to  teach  Lily,  and  both 
she  and  Bessie  were  soon  fast  asleep. 


II. 


A  MONKEY,  A  PUPPY,  AND  A  BEGGAR. 


ILY  !  " 

"  Yes,  mamma !  " 
"  Can  I  trust  you  to  do  something 
for  me  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed,  mamma !  you  know  I  like  to 
help  you." 

"  I  want  it  done  immediately,  dear." 

"  Oh,  yes,  mamma,  I'm  ready.    I'll  do  it  right 


Mrs.  Norris  sat  at  the  library  table,  writing. 
As  she  said  the  last  words  she  hastily  folded 
the  note  she  had  just  finished,  and  slipped  it 
into  its  envelope ;  then,  as  she  put  the  address 
upon  it,  she  said, — 


28  Lily  JVprriV  Enemy. 

"  I  have  an  appointment  to  keep,  Lily  ;  and 
there  is  Mrs.  Bradford  now,  I  believe.  I  am 
going  with  her,  and  I  would  like  you  to  lay 
these  papers  smoothly  in  my  writing-ease, 
those  others  in  this  box, —  you  know  where  they 
belong,  —  and  to  put  my  silver  inkstand  care- 
fully in  the  secretary.  There,  I  have  closed  it, 
so  you  cannot  spill  the  ink.  Will  you  be  a 
helpful  little  girl,  and  see  to  that  for  me,  my 
daughter  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed,  mamma,"  said  Lily  again. 
"  I'm  glad  you  let  me  do  it  for  you.  I'll  be 
very  careful  with  the  inkstand." 

"  And  at  once,  remember,  dear,"  said  Mrs. 
Norris,  rising  from  her  chair.  "  I  do  not  wish 
the  inkstand  left  here  on  the  table,  or  the 
paper  to  lie  scattered  about.  It  will  be  a  great 
help  to  mamma  if  you  do  it  nicely.  Ah  ! 
good  afternoon,  Mrs.  Bradford,"  as  that  lady 
was  shown  into  the  room.  "  I  am  all  ready, 
and  will  not  detain  you.  I  had  just  received 
a  note  which  needed  an  immediate  answer,  be- 
fore I  left  home ;  but  it  is  finished,  and  I  shall 


A  Afonkey,  a  Puffy ■,  and  a  Beggar.  29 

trust  Lily  to  put  by  my  writing  materials  for 
me." 

Lily  looked  up  at  Mrs.  Bradford,  rather 
proud  of  being  trusted  by  her  mother  ;  and  the 
lady  smiled  as  she  stooped  to  kiss  her. 

"  Lily  likes  to  help  mamma  as  well  as  Maggie 
and  Bessie  do,  I  see,"  she  said. 

"  Yes  :  and  she  can  often  be  of  great  assist- 
ance when  she  is  prompt  and  punctual,"  said 
Mrs.  Norris,  drawing  on  her  gloves. 

"  Are  Maggie  and  Bessie  well,  Mrs.  Brad- 
ford ?  "  asked  Lily. 

"  Yes,  dear ;  and  they  wished  me  to  ask  you 
to  come  and  see  them  very  soon.  I  do  not  know 
when  they  want  you  to  come,  for  they  have, 
some  plans  to  arrange  with  their  Aunt  Annie, 
but  they  will  let  you  know.  They  are  drawing 
some  pictures  for  you,  I  believe,  and  want  to 
explain  it  to  you." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Lily  ;  "  they  promised  me  a 
proverb  picture,  and  their  proverb  pictures  are 
so  interesting.  I  should  think  any  one  might  be 
glad  to  have  them." 


^o  Lily  JVornV  Enemy, 

"  They  certainly  seem  to  give  great  satisfac 
tion,  both  to  themselves,  and  to  those  whom 
they  are  intended  to  benefit,"  said  Mrs.  Brad- 
ford, laughing.  "  Good-by,  Lily.  The  chil- 
dren will  see  you  soon.  I  gave  them  leave  to 
ask  you  when  they  pleased;  and  you  must 
come  early,  whenever  that  may  be." 

"  Thank  you,  ma'am,"  said  Lily.  "  I'll  come 
just  as  soon  as  mamma  will  let  me." 

She  followed  her  mother  and  Mrs.  Bradford 
to  the  front  door,  where  the  former  turned,  and 
said  a  little  uneasily,  — 

"  Lily,  attend  to  the  inkstand  at  once,  my 
darling." 

"  I  am  going  to,  mamma,"  answered  the 
little  girl,  meaning  what  she  said  at  the  mo- 
ment, though  she  afterwards  came  so  far  short 
of  it,  as  you  shall  see. 

As  the  door  closed  after  the  two  ladies,  Lily 
caught  the  notes  of  a  hand-organ  in  the  street ; 
and  running  back  to  the  library,  she  went  to 
the  window  to  look  out  for  the  strolling  musi- 
cian who  carried  it. 


A  Monkey,  a  Puffy,  and  a  Beggar,  31 

She  had  not  forgotten  her  mother's  orders, 
or  the  help  she  had  promised  to  be  to  her ; 
and  as  she  passed  by  the  table  on  her  way 
to  the  window,  the  scattered  papers  and  the 
silver  inkstand  caught  her  eye,  and  reminded 
her  of  her  promise. 

But  she  did  not  pause. 

"  Just  a  moment ;  I'll  put  them  away  in  one 
moment,"  she  said  to  herself.  "  I'll  just  look 
and  see  if  that  organ  man  is  coming  here  ; 
'cause  I  have  some  pennies  in  my  pocket,  and 
I'll  give  him  some.  Oh,  yes  !  there  he  is,  and 
he  has  a  monkey.  I  like  monkey  organ  men 
the  best,  'cause  the  monkeys  are  so  funny. 
What  a  funny  fellow !  Why,  he's  'most  the 
cunningest  monkey  I  ever  saw  ;  "  and  Lily  had 
quite  forgotten  her  promise. 

She  was  in  great  glee  over  the  monkey,  who 
certainly  was  a  droll,  though  a  very  ugly  little 
beast,  as  monkeys  generally  are ;  and  she 
amused  herself  with  him  for  some  time,  as 
he  climbed  the  balcony  railings,  stoop,  and 
blinds,  hopped  up  and  down  the  broad  stone 


32  Lily  Norrii  Enemy. 

steps,  and  every  now  and  then  came  close  to 
the  window  where  she  stood,  and  mouthed  and 
jabbered  away  at  her.  Amused  though  she 
was,  she  was  glad  that  the  glass  was  between 
her  and  the  grinning  creature  ;  and  she  always 
took  the  opportunity  of  his  little  excursions 
to  open  the  window  and  quickly  thrust  out  the 
pennies,  for  which  he  immediately  sprang 
down,  and  taking  them  up  in  his  paw  hurried 
with  them  to  his  master.  Lily  treated  him 
also  to  a  cake,  which  he  greedily  nibbled ;  and 
then,  seeing  that  the  poor  creature  lapped  his 
tongue  upon  a  damp  spot  on  the  stone  pave- 
ment, where  a  little  water  had  been  spilled, 
as  though  he  were  thirsty,  she  called  a  ser- 
vant to  bring  a  cup  of  water,  and  gave  him  a 
drink. 

Finding  that  she  thus  provided  entertain- 
ment for  man  and  beast,  and  that  he  was  reap- 
ing quite  a  harvest,  the  organ-grinder  stayed 
for  some  time ;  and  all  the  while,  the  inkstand 
remained  unheeded  on  the  table.  Not  quite 
forgotten,  either ;  for  every  now  and  then  the 


A  Monkey ■,  a  Puppy ',  and  a  Beggar.  33 

recollection  of  it  would  come  to  her  ;  but  Lily 
kept  saying  to  herself,  "  In  one  minute  ;  I'm 
going  in  just  one  minute. " 

But  the  one  minute  multiplied  itself  into 
twenty  before  the  man  moved  off  with  his 
organ  and  his  monkey,  and  Lily  felt  at  leisure 
to  attend  to  her  mother's  wishes. 

But  it  seemed  after  all  that  the  time  had 
not  yet  come. 

"  Miss  Lily,"  said  a  servant  man,  putting 
his  head  in  at  the  library  door,  "  is  Master 
Tom  at  home  ?  " 

"  No,  I  b'lieve  not ;  I  think  he  didn't  come 
from  school  yet,"  answered  Lily,  with  her  hand 
on  the  inkstand. 

"  I'd  like  to  know  what  time  he'll  be  in,"  said 
the  man,  lingering,  "  for  my  brother  is  below 
with  the  puppies  Master  Tom  wanted  to  see. 
There's  a  gentleman  wants  to  buy  both ;  but 
seeing  Master  Tom  had  spoken  about  one  if  it 
suited,  he  thought  it  was  only  fair  to  bring 
diem  here  first,  and  let  him  make  up  his  mind. 
But  the  gentleman  must  know  this  afternoon. 

3 


34  Lily  Norris   Enemy. 

Wouldn't  you  like   to   see   'em,   Miss   Lily? 
They're  such  pretty  little  dogs." 

"  Yes,  indeed  I  would,"  answered  the  child  ; 
and  she  followed  the  man  to  the  basement  hall, 
where  his  brother  waited  with  the  puppies,-- - 
not  without  another  thought  of  her  still  un- 
performed duty ;  but  again  she  contented 
herself  with  the  excuse,  "  I  shan't  be  half  a 
minute,  and  the  inkstand  is  shut  up.  It  can't 
spill  the  ink." 

Alas,  alas !  it  was  long  before  the  recollec 
tion  of  it  again  crossed  Lily's  mind. 

If  she  had  found  the  monkey  bewitching, 
what  did  she  find  the  little  dogs,  —  playful, 
pretty  creatures,  which  seemed  delighted  with 
a  playmate  frolicsome  and  mischievous  as 
themselves  ? 

Then  her  brother  Tom  came  in ;  and,  hear- 
ing that  the  dogs  were  there  for  his  approval, 
came  down  to  look  at  them  and  decide  which 
he  would  have. 

Of  course  Lily  must  stay  and  help  him  to 
make  his  choice  ;  and  now  that  vexatious  little 


A  Monkey,  a  Puffy,  and  a  Beggar.  35 

feeling  that  there  was  something  wrong,  some 
duty  unfulfilled,  had  altogether  passed  away. 
Lily  was  quite  at  her  ease  by  this  time. 

The  matter  was  at  last  settled ;  the  dog 
chosen,  the  man  paid  and  sent  away,  leaving 
the  selected  puppy  in  a  very  low  and  melancholy 
state  of  mind  at  the  parting.  He  whined  and 
cried  piteously,  first  scratching  and  barking 
at  the  door  where  his  former  owner  and  his 
puppy  brother  had  passed  out ;  and  at  last, 
after  refusing  to  be  comforted  by  all  the  petting 
that  was  lavished  upon  him,  retiring  into  private 
life  behind  the  kitchen  coal-scuttle,  and  reso- 
lutely declining  to  be  coaxed  out. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Tom,  "  he'll  be  all  right 
by  and  by,  Lily.  Wait  till  he's  hungry,  and 
he'll  come  out  and  be  glad  enough  to  make 
friends.  Now  I  am  going  to  buy  a  house  for 
him.  I  saw  some  pretty  little  dog-houses 
down  at  Bruner's  this  morning,  and  I'll  go 
look  at  them,  and  see  if  they'll  answer." 

"Oh,  Tom !  could  I  go  with  you  ?  "  asked  Lily. 

"  Yes,  if  you  like,"  said  Tom ;  "  I'll  be  glad 


36  Lily  2Yorris>  Enemy, 

to  have  you ;  only  make  haste  to  be  dressed 
Lily.     Will  you  go  to  Nora  at  once  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Lily,  clapping  her  hands; 
and  away  she  flew  to  beg  her  nurse  to  make 
her  ready  as  soon  as  possible. 

Nothing  presenting  itself  just  then  to  take 
up  her  attention,  or  which  looked  more  attrac- 
tive than  the  promised  walk  with  Tom,  she 
made  no  delay,  but  obeyed  his  direction  to  gc 
and  be  dressed  at  once. 

How  many  boys  do  you  think  would  have 
consented  as  readily,  cheerfully,  and  kindly  as 
Tom  Norris  did  to  such  a  request  from  a  little 
sister  ?  But  that  was  Tom's  way.  When  he 
granted  a  favor  or  bestowed  a  kindness,  it  was 
done  in  a  manner  which  made  it  seem  as  if  it 
were  a  pleasure  to  himself.  And  if  he  were 
obliged  to  refuse  Lily  any  thing  that  she  asked, 
she  never  grumbled  nor  fretted,  because  she 
knew  well  that  Tom  would  grant  it  if  he  could, 
or  if  it  were  best  for  her  to  have  it.  Tom 
never  said  he  couldn't  be  "  bothered  with  girls," 
or  "  catch  me  doing  it,"  or  ran  off  with  some 


A  Monkey,  a  Puppy,  and  a  Beggar.  37 

other  contemptuous  or  unkind  speech,  such  as 
boys  too  often  use  toward  their  little  sisters. 
Tom  was  a  true  man,  and  a  true  gentleman, 
kindly  and  courteous  in  his  manner  and  words 
toward  all  women  and  children,  but  especially 
to  his  mother  and  little  sister :  free,  fearless, 
and  generous ;  daring  to  do  and  to  speak  the 
right ;  yet  so  bright,  so  gay,  so  manly  that  not 
one  among  his  companions  ever  thought  of 
calling  him  a  "  Miss  Nancy,"  a  "  muff,"  or 
other  like  names. 

No,  indeed  !  and  was  not  Tom  Norris  the 
king  of  Mr.  Peters'  school,  the  judge  in  all 
disputes,  the  one  to  settle  all  difficulties,  to 
"  help  a  fellow  out  of  a  scrape  "  ? 

Nora  would  as  soon  have  thought  of  ques- 
tioning her  own  care  and  wisdom  for  Lily  as 
she  would  that  of  "  Master  Tom." 

"  Miss  Lily's  all  right,  ma'am,  she's  with 
Master  Tom,"  would  be  answer  enough  when 
there  was  any  inquiry  about  the  little  girl ; 
and  it  was  quite  satisfactory  to  mother  or  nurse 
to  ki.  nw  that  she  was  with  her  brother.     No  fear 


^8  Lily  Norris'  Enemy. 

that  Lily  would  come  to  harm  or  fall  into  mis- 
chief with  Tom  to  guard  and  guide  her. 

So  she  made  no  objection  when  Lily  came 
running  to  her  and  begged  to  be  dressed  to  go 
out  with  Tom  ;  and  she  soon  had  her  ready. 

As  the  little  girl  went  downstairs  to  join 
her  brother,  he  stood  in  the  hall  below,  putting 
on  his  overcoat. 

"  Lily,"  he  said,  when  he  saw  her,  "  did  you 
tell  Nora  to  sew  on  these  two  buttons  ? " 

"  Oh,  Tom  !  "  cried  Lily,  clasping  her  hands 
together,  and  looking  ashamed  and  troubled, 
as  she  well  might. 

"  You  told  me,  Lily,"  said  Tom,  "  when  I 
wanted  to  ask  mamma  to  give  the  order,  that 
you  would  be  sure  to  attend  to  it,  and  that 
you  would  go  right  away  and  tell  Nora.  Now 
you  must  wait  till  I  go  up  and  have  it  done. 
You  put  it  off,  I  suppose,  and  so  forgot  it." 

Yes,  that  was  just  it ;  more  procrastination, 
and  so  forgetfulness. 

Tom  did  not  speak  angrily,  but  his  voice 
was  grave,  and  Lily  saw  that  he  was  vexed. 


A  Monkey,  a  Puffy,  and  a  Beggar.  39 

"  I'm  so  sorry,"  she  said  to  herself,  as  she 
opened  the  front  door,  and  stood  waiting  for 
her  brother  upon  the  stoop.  "  I  did  mean  to 
remember  and  tell  Nora  right  away,  and  I  only 
just  stopped  to  listen  to  mamma's  musical 
box  for  a  moment,  and  so  I  went  and  forgot. 
It  is  too  mean  I  do  forget  so  quick." 

What  was  the  reason  Lily  forgot  so  quickly 
and  so   often  ? 

Because  she  allowed  other  things  to  take  her 
time  and  her  attention  from  the  duty  she 
should  first  attend  to. 

"  Please,  dear  little  lady,  to  help  a  poor 
woman." 

Lily  started,  and  looked  around.  She  had 
not  seen  the  woman  coming,  and  she  now  was 
half  way  up  the  steps,  almost  at  her  elbow. 

"  Please,  little  lady,"  the  woman  began  again; 
"  I've  a  little  girl  at  home  no  bigger  nor  your- 
self, and  five  more  of  'em,  and  not  a  mouthful 
to  eat  have  they  had  these  twenty-four  hours. 
A  little  money  to  buy  bread  for  'em,  and  bless 
your  beautiful  face." 


40  Lily  Norris*  Enemy, 

"  Oh,  dear  !  I'm  so  sorry,"  said  Lily ;  not 
moved  by  the  woman's  flattery,  but  by  the 
vision  of  the  six  children  no  larger  than  her- 
self, who  were  starving.  "  I  think  mamma 
would  give  you  lots  of  things  if  she  were 
home,  but  she  is  not ;  or  papa  either.  Couldn't 
you  come  again  ?  " 

"  And  I  might  go  home  to  find  them  dying 
or  dead,"  whined  the  old  woman,  coming 
nearer,  and  trying  to  peer  within  the  half  open 
door.  "  You  couldn't  give  a  poor  mother  a 
loaf  of  bread,  or  a  few  pennies,  little  lady  ? 
I'm  not  a  beggar  at  all ;  I'd  be  ashamed  to  beg, 
but  I  thought  if  I  could  get  a  lift  this  once, 
I'd  work  it  out  some  day.  I  never  begged  in 
my  life  ;  but  there's  the  children  starving,  and 
me  with  a  broken  arm." 

Lily,  who  was  a  charitable  and  generous 
child,  felt  her  sympathy  strongly  roused,  and 
remembering  the  store  in  her  money-box  up- 
stairs,  she  said, — 

"  Oh,  yes  !  I  have  money  of  my  own,  and  I'll 
give  you  some.      But   it's   way   upstairs,  so 


A  Monkey,  a  Puffy,  and  a  Beggar.  41 

you'll  have  to  wait  a  minute  till  I  bring  it. 
And  I'll  see  if  I  can  have  a  loaf  of  bread  for 
you  too." 

The  woman  was  about  to  follow  her  into  the 
house  ;  but  Lily,  recollecting  certain  charges 
she  had  heard  given  to  the  servants,  and  also 
a  sad  and  mortifying  thing  which  had  once 
happened  to  Maggie  Bradford,  would  not  suffer 
her  to  enter.  But,  not  wishing  to  hurt  the 
woman's   feelings,  she  said, — 

"  I  think  you'd  better  wait  outside.  Mamma 
don't  like  to  have  strange  people  come  in  when 
there's  no  one  about ;  and  the  servants  are  all 
downstairs  'cept  Nora,  and  she's  up.  I'll  be 
back  in  a  minute  ;  "  and,  with  an  encouraging 
nod  to  the  woman,  away  she  flew  on  her  errand 
of  kindness. 

Poor  Lily !  in  the  midst  of  her  intended 
prudence,  she  had  been  most  imprudent ;  for 
she  left  the  door  partially  open,  not  wishing  to 
seem  too  inhospitable,  and  never  dreaming  the 
woman  would  disregard  her  order,  and  take 
advantage  of  her  absence. 


42  Lily  Nor r is*  Enemy. 

She  ran  into  the  nursery  and  found  hei 
money-box,  taking  from  it  twenty-five  cents. 
Tom  was  speaking  to  Nora,  who  was  still  busy 
with  his  coat,  am'.  Lily  did  not  interrupt  him. 
But  presently  he  turned  to  her. 

"  Going  to  do  some  shopping  too,  Lily  ?  "  he 
asked,  as  he  saw  what  she  was  doing. 

"  No,"  said  Lily,  "  this  is  for  a  poor  woman 
downstairs.  Don't  you  want  to  give  her  some- 
thing too,  Tom  ?  And  do  you  think  mamma 
would  let  me  give  her  a  loaf  of  bread  ?  She's 
not  a  common  beggar :  she  says  she's  not ;  and 
she  has  six  children,  all  starving,  just  about 
as  big  as   me." 

"  Miss  Lily,"  said  Nora,  starting  up,  "  now 
what  have  you  done  with  her  ?    Where  is  she  ?  " 

"  Oh,  you  needn't  be  afraid,  Nora,"  an- 
swered Lily.  "  I  was  very  careful,  and  told 
her  to  stay  outside,  on  the  stoop,  'cause  I  re- 
membered how  Maggie  let  a  man  come  in  the 
house,  and  how  he  stole  her  papa's  new  over- 
coat while  she  went  upstairs.  I  took  very 
good  care  of  her,  and  told  her  she   couldn't 


A  Monkey,  a  Pufi£y>  and  a  Beggar.  43 

come  in,  'cause  every  one  was  upstairs  or  down- 
stairs. Shall  you  give  her  some  money  ?  and 
can  I  have  the  bread,  Tom  ?  " 

"  Wait  till  I  come  down  and  see  the  woman," 
said  Tom,  who  knew  that  Lily's  sym- 
pathies were  too  apt  to  run  away  with  her 
judgment. 

Lily  waited  with  what  patience  she  might  for 
a  moment  or  two  ;  but  it  seemed  to  her  that 
Nora's  fingers  moved  very  slowly. 

"Tom,"  she  said  presently,  " couldn't  you 
come  and  see  the  woman  while  Nora  finishes  the 
coat  ?  You  know  those  children  must  be  grow- 
ing starveder  and  starveder  every  minute." 

Tom  laughed,  but  consented ;  and,  taking 
her  hand,  was  about  to  lead  her  from  the  room, 
when  Nora  stopped  her. 

"  Miss  Lily,"  she  said,  "  you  took  away  my 
large  scissors  this  morning,  and  I  need  them 
to  cut  out  some  work.  Will  you  bring  them 
to  me  before  you  go  down  again  ?  " 

"You  find  them,  please,  Nora,"  answered 
Lily.    "  They're  somewhere  in  my  baby-house." 


44  Lily  JVorris*  Enemy, 

"  Your  mamma  forbid  it,"  said  Nora.  "  She 
told  me  when  you  took  a  thing  that  way  and 
kept  it,  I  was  to  make  you  bring  it  back,  and 
not  go  and  hunt  it  up  for  you." 

"  Just  this  once,"  pleaded  Lily. 

Nora  shook  her  head,  though  she  would 
herself  willingly  have  humored  the  child. 

"  Your  mamma  was  here,  you  know,  when  you 
took  the  scissors,"  she  said,  "  and  she  told  me 
if  you  did  not  bring  them  back  as  you  promised, 
I  was  to  send  you  for  them.  She  said  you  are 
getting  too  much  in  the  way  of  thinking  that  I 
am  to  hunt  up  all  the  things  you  don't  put  back 
in  their  places,  and  to  see  to  every  thing  you 
put  off  and  leave  undone.  You  musfc  bring  me 
the  scissors  before  you  go,  dear." 

"  While  you  find  them  I'll  go  down  and 
talk  to  your  woman  with  the  half-dozen  chil- 
dren all  just  of  your  size,"  said  Tom,  who 
evidently  had  his  doubts  on  the  subject  of  Lily's 
protegee;  "  and  if  she  seems  all  right  you  shall 
give  her  some  food;  but  we  won't  give  her 
money  till  we  know  more  about  her.     That  is 


A  Monkey,  a  Puppy,  and  a  Beggar.  45 

mamma's  rule,  you  know.  Nora,  please  bring 
me  the  coat  when  it  is  done." 

And  Tom  went  away,  leaving  Lily  to  follow 
when  she  had  found  the  scissors. 

It  took  her  some  three  or  four  minutes  to  do 
this ;  for  she  had  left  them  among  a  heap  of 
bits  of  silk  and  ribbon  with  which  she  had 
been  playing  that  morning,  and  neglecting  to 
take  the  scissors  back  to  Nora  when  she  had 
finished  with  them,  as  she  had  promised  to  do, 
she  had  forgotten  them  altogether,  and  could 
not  find  them  at  once. 

The  coat  was  ready  when  she  went  back  to 
Nora,  and  the  nurse  followed  her  downstairs 
with  it. 

"  Your  bird  had  flown  when  I  came  down, 
Lil,"  said  Tom,  when  he  saw  her. 

"  Who,  the  woman  ?  Had  she  gone  away  ?  " 
asked  Lily. 

"  Yes,  she  had  gone ;  no  sign  of  her.  But 
didn't  you  say  you  had  shut  her  out  ?  " 

"  I  told  her  to  stay  out,  'cause  there  was  no 
one  about  in  this  part  of  the  house  to  take  care 


46  Lily  Nor r if  Enemy. 

of  her,"  answered  Lily,  with  an  air  of  confident 
wisdom  and  prudence. 

"And  did  you  not  shut  the  door?"  asked 
Tom. 

"  Not  so  very  tight,"  said  Lily.  "  I  left  it  a 
little  scrap  open,  fear  her  feelings  would  be 
hurt,  and  maybe  she  might  think  I  wasn't 
coming  back  to  her." 

"  Oh,  wise  Lily  !  "  said  Tom,  laughing,  as  he 
put  on  his  overcoat ;  u  you  left  the  door  stand- 
ing open,  and  told  her  there  was  no  one  in  this 
part  of  the  house  !  Next  time,  little  woman, 
close  the  door." 

"Did  she  come  in?"  asked  Lily.  "I  told 
her  she  must  not." 

"  No,  I  believe  not,"  answered  Tom ;  "  and 
as  it  is  there  is  no  harm  done,  for  I've  looked 
round,  and  there's  nothing  touched.  The 
hats  and  coats  are  all  right,  and  every  thing 
else  seems  to  be  safe.  You've  had  better 
luck  or  a  better  beggar  than  poor  Maggie  ; 
but  next  time,  puss,  don't  you  leave  any  one 
the  chance  to  walk  in  when  the  coast  is  clear." 


A  Monkey,  a  Puffy,  mid  a  Beggar.  47 

"  You're  sure  there's  nothing  taken,  and 
that  she's  not  in  the  house,  Master  Tom  ?  " 
said  prudent  Nora. 

"  Yes,  I  believe  it's  all  safe,"  said  Tom ; 
"  but  you'd  better  call  Robert  up,  and  tell  him 
to  make  a  thorough  search.  Come,  Lily,  we'll 
be  off  now." 


III. 


THE  SILVER  INKSTAND. 


ILY,"  said  Tom,  as  they  went  down 
the  street  together,  "  don't  you  see 
what  a  lot  of  trouble  your  habit  of 
putting  off  makes  for  yourself  and  every  one 
about  you  ? " 

"  Yes,  I  should  think  I  did,"  answered  Lily, 
with  energy.  "  I'm  dreadfully  sorry  about 
your  coat,  Tom  ;  I  really  am,  dreadfully." 

Apparently  her  remorse  did  not  affect  her 
spirits  much,  for,  as  she  spoke,  she  went  skip- 
ping along,  swinging  her  brother's  hand  back 
and  forth,  and  smiling  and  nodding  with  glee. 
"  I  was  not  speaking  for  myself  so  much,  or 


The  Silver  Inkstand.  49 

caring  about  my  coat  just  then,"  said  Tom. 
"  That  does  not  matter  now ;  but  this  is  such  a 
bad  habit  of  yours,  Lily,  and  it  is  growing 
worse  and  worse." 

"  Oh,  but  I'm  going  to  begin  to  cure  myself 
very  soon,"  said  Lily.  "  Maggie  and  Bessie 
are  going  to  make  me  a  proverb  picture,  and 
Belle  is  going  to  help  them ;  and  as  soon  as  I 
have  it  I  will  improve  myself  by  it.  Tom, 
why  don't  the  boys  in  your  school  make  proverb 
pictures  for  each  other  ?  I  should  think  they 
would.  Proverb  pictures  are  so  very  interest- 
ing, and  so  improving  too,  Tom." 

"  I  dare  say,  when  one  is  willing  to  be 
improved,  "  said  Tom  ;  "  but  I  do  not  think  our 
boys  would  care  much  about  them.  They  are 
rather  too  large  for  that." 

"  Dear  me  !  I  should  think  the  older  people 
are  the  better  they'd  like  them,"  said  Lily  ; 
"  'cause  they  can  make  them  better  when 
they've  learned  to  draw.  I  can't  make  them 
very  fit  to  be  seen  yet ;  but  when  I'm  grown  up 
and  can  draw  nicely,  I'll  make  a  whole  lot ;  and 
4 


50  Lily  JVbrrts'  Enemy, 

when  I  go  to  make  visits,  or  my  acquaintances 
come  to  see  me,  and  I  see  they  have  faults  or 
bad  habits,  I'll  just  give  them  a  proverb  picture 
to  help  them  to  correct  themselves." 

u  If  you  don't  change  your  mind  in  the 
mean  time,"  said  Tom,  merrily.  "  I  don't  think 
you'll  be  overrun  with  visitors  if  you  enter- 
tain them  in  that  fashion,  Lily.  But,"  becoming 
grave  again,  "  I  want  you  to  listen  to  me,  and 
seriously,  too.  You  see  what  trouble  this  put- 
ting off  and  never  being  ready  in  time  makes 
for  yourself ;  and  you  can't  help  seeing  also  how 
it  provokes  other  people,  and  good  reason,  too. 
For  you  know,  Lily,  you  have  no  right  to  make 
such  inconvenience  for  other  people.  " 

"  Ho  !  "  said  Lily.  "  I  see,  Tom,  you're  like 
Maggie's  old  Quaker  lady,  cross  old  thing  !  I 
don't  mean  you're  cross,  not  one  bit ;  only 
you  think,  like  her,  that  somebody  has  no  right 
to  take  up  other  people's  time  by  making  them 
wait." 

"  What  Quaker  lady  ?  "  asked  Tom. 

Lily  repeated  Maggie's  story,  almost  word 


The  Silver  Inkstand.  51 

for  word,  as  she  had  told  it.  Tom  was  very 
much  amused,  but  he  did  not  let  Lily  see  that ; 
for  it  was  hard  to  make  her  talk  seriously  on 
any  subject,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  have  her 
see  him  laugh  just  now. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  with  all  the  gravity  he  could 
muster,  "  I  am  much  of  the  opinion  of  that 
old  lady.  I  do  not  think  that  any  one  has  the 
right  to  waste  the  time  of  other  people,  by 
keeping  them  waiting,  when  it  can  be  avoided  ; 
or  by  failing  to  do  that  which  they  are  ex- 
pected, or  perhaps  have  promised,  to  do.  I 
know  a  lady —  " 

"  What's  her  name  ?  "  questioned  Lily. 

"  Never  mind  her  name.  I  know  a  lady 
who  is  never  ready  at  the  time  for  which  she 
makes  an  engagement,  and  who  in  this  way 
makes  herself  a  nuisance  to  all  who  are  obliged 
to  have  any  business  with  her ;  who  always 
comes  into  church  when  the  service  is  half 
over  ;  who  is  late  at  every  meal,  either  in  her 
own  house,  or  other  people's  —  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Lily  ;  "  and  don't  you  remem- 


52  Lily  Norrii  Enemy. 

ber,  Tom,  how  mad  papa  was  that  time  she 
came  to  dinner  at  our  house  when  Mr.  Francis 
was  there  ;  and  he  and  papa  had  a  very  impor- 
tant engagement,  and  she  kept  the  dinner 
waiting  so  long  that  they  could  not  get  to  their 
engagement  in  time  ;  and  wasn't  papa  mad  ?  " 

"  Not  mad  exactly,"  said  Tom,  "  but  he  was 
very  much  vexed,  and  with  reason;  but  I  see 
you  know  whom  I  mean,  Lily." 

"  Oh,  yes,  very  well  indeed ;  you  mean  Miss 
Lee.  She's  just  too  provoking  for  any  thing  ; 
but  then  I  never  mean  to  be  like  her.  Pretty 
soon  I'm  going  to  begin  to  correct  myself  of 
putting  off,  and  not  being  ready  in  time." 

uBut  why  don't  you  begin  now,  right  off?  " 
said  Tom. 

"  Would  you  ?  "  asked  Lily,  doubtfully.  "  I 
thought  I'd  wait  till  I  had  the  proverb 
picture." 

"  Yes,  begin  to-day,  this  very  minute,"  said 
Tom. 

"  There's  nothing  for  me  to  put  off  just 
now,"  said  Lily. 


The  Silver  Inkstand.  53 

"  I  mean  make  up  your  mind ;  take  a  resolu 
tion  you  will  begin  at  once,"  said  Tom.  "  You 
see,  Lily,  it  is  the  same  in  every  thing.  You 
always  think,  '  it  is  time  enough, '  or  '  another 
time  will  do ; '  and  so  the  thing  is  left  undone, 
or  you  make  some  trouble.  You  are  a  real 
generous,  obliging  little  girl,  but  you  could  be 
far  more  helpful  if  you  had  not  this  bad  habit. 
Mamma  often  asks  you  to  do  some  little  thing 
for  her;  but  if  she  trusts  to  you,  ten  to  one  —  " 

Lily  stopped  short  where  she  stood,  with  a 
face  of  the  blankest  dismay,  and  interrupted 
her  brother  in  a  distressed  voice. 

"  Oh,  Tom !  "  she  said.  u  I  did  do  such  a 
thing  !  Mamma  did  trust  me,  and  I've  done 
such  a  thing,  and  never  did  it." 

"  What  is  it  ?  What  have  you  clone,  and 
what  haven't  you  done  ?  "  asked  Tom,  rather 
at  a  loss  to  understand  her,  as  you  may  im- 
agine he  would  be. 

"  Mamma  was  just  going  out  with  Mrs. 
Bradford,  when  a  note  came  she  had  to  answer 
before  she  went,"  said  Lily ;  "  and  she  was  in 


54  Lily  JVorrzV  Enemy, 

a  great  hurry,  and  so  she  told  me  to  be  a  help 
to  her,  and  put  away  all  her  writing  things 
very  carefully.  And  I  said  I  would,  and  she 
trusted  me,  and  told  me  to  do  it  right  away, 
and  —  and  —  oh,  Tom  !  " 

"  And  you  did  not  do  it,  "  said  Tom,  gravely. 
u  You  did  not  do  it  at  once,  but  put  it  off,  and 
so  left  it  undone." 

"  Yes, "  answered  Lily,  her  eyes  filling,  and 
her  voice  shaking.  "  I  never  did  it,  and  I 
should  think  I  was  provoking.  I  should  think 
the  whole  world  might  be  provoked  with  me. 
Tom,  I  ought  to  go  back ;  but  you  oughtn't  to 
be  kept  for  me  any  longer.  You  can  take  me 
to  our  house,  and  just  leave  me  ;  and  I'll  go 
right  in,  and  put  away  mamma's  things,  and 
stay  at  home  for  a  punishment  to  myself, 
and  to  make  me  see  how  troublesome  putting 
off  is." 

"  Mamma's  things  are  all  put  away,  Lily," 
said  Tom. 

"  Who  did  it  ?  You  ?  "  asked  Lily,  recover- 
ing her  spirits  a  little. 


The  Silver  Inkstand.  55 

"  Yes.  I  did  not  know  you  had  promised  to 
do  it,  or  I  should  have  spoken  to  you  about  it ; 
but  when  I  was  looking  round  to  see  if  that 
beggar  woman  had  been  at  any  mischief,  I  saw 
mamma's  writing  things  lying  about  over  the 
table,  and  her  desk  open ;  so  I  just  put  every 
thing  away,  and  locked  the  desk.  It  is  all  right 
now,"  added  Tom,  believing  it  was  as  he 
said.  "  But  how  came  you  to  forget  mamma's 
orders,  Lily  ?  " 

"  It  was  all  the  fault  of  that  old  monkey," 
said  Lily,  as  her  brother  led  her  on.  "  Horrid 
thing  !  I  wish  he'd  stayed  away,  and  that  I 
hadn't  looked  at  him,  or  given  him  cakes 
or  pennies  or  any  thing.  His  frock  was  aw- 
fully dirty  too,"  she  added,  forgetting  all  the 
amusement  the  monkey  had  afforded  her,  and 
now  only  disposed  to  regard  him  as  the  cause 
of  her  neglect  of  her  mother's  wishes. 

"  I  should  not  blame  the  poor  monkey  if  I 
were  you,"  said  Tom.  "  How  was  it  ?  You 
went  to  look  at  the  monkey  in  place  of  attend- 
ing-to  mamma's  orders,  and  so  forgot  all  about 
them  ? " 


56  Lily  Norris*  Enemy. 

"  Yes,"  said  Lily.  "  I  meant  to  look  at  him 
for  only  one  minute,  and  then  to  put  away  the 
things  just  as  mamma  told  me,  but  he  was  so 
funny  I  forgot ;  and  then  the  puppies  came ; 
and  that's  the  way  I  never  remembered  them 
at  all." 

"  Well,  you  see,"  said  Tom,  "  you  should 
have  put  away  mamma's  things  at  once,  and 
then  gone  to  look  at  the  monkey.  And  it  was 
your  own  fault,  not  the  monkey's,  Lily.  He 
did  not  ask  you  to  come  and  look  at  him ;  it 
was  your  own  choice." 

"  Yes,"  answered  Lily,  rather  meekly  for 
her. 

"  Now  can't  you  see  it  is  better  for  you  to 
begin  at  once  ?  "  said  Tom.  "  Don't  let  Pro- 
crastination hinder  you  here,  Lil.  The  old 
fellow  don't  want  himself  put  down,  and  will 
trump  up  all  manner  of  excuses  to  keep  his 
hold  on  you.  But  you  root  him  up  just  as 
quick  as  you  can.  Begin  this  very  day ;  and 
the  next  time  you  have  any  thing  to  do,  don't 
listen  to  one  of  his  fine  speeches." 


The  Silver  Inkstand,  57 

"  Yes,  so  I  will,  I  b'lieve,"  said  Lily.  "  I 
^on't  wait  for  the  proverb  picture,  but  just 
begin  to-day.  I  wish  there  would  come  some- 
thing I  want  to  put  off,  and  I  wouldn't  put  it 
off,  but  just  do  it  very  quick  indeed." 

Poor  Lily  !  She  was  to  learn  more  that  day  of 
the  evils  of  procrastination  in  her  own  case. 

Tom  thought  he  had  said  enough  to  her 
now ;  and  they  went  on  together  to  the  store 
where  he  wished  to  buy  his  dog-house.  Here 
they  chose  one,  and  here  also  they  purchased 
a  collar  for  the  puppy,  Tom  allowing  Lily  to 
pick  out  a  red  one,  although  he  would  himself 
have  preferred  blue.  Was  he  not  a  kind 
brother  ? 

As  they  were  on  their  way  home,  they  met 
Maggie  and  Bessie  Bradford,  with  their  Aunt 
Annie. 

Lily  rushed  forward,  letting  go  her  hold  on 
her  brother's  hand ;  and  Maggie  ran  to  meet 
her,  almost  as  eager  as  she  was. 

"  Is  my  proverb  picture  nearly  ready  ? " 
asked  Lily. 


58  Lily  JVorrtV  Enemy, 

"  Yes,  quite,"  answered  Maggie  ;  "  and  we 
want  you  to  come  to  our  house,  so  we  can  ex- 
plain it  to  you.  We've  just  been  to  your  house 
to  ask  you,  but  you  were  out,  or  else  you  could 
have  come  to  take  tea  with  us,  if  your  mamma 
had  said  so.  I  wonder  if  she  wouldn't  just  as 
lief  you  should  come  now.  Can't  Lily  come 
with  us,  Tom  ?  " 

Tom  had  now  come  up  to  the  little  girls, 
and  so  had  Miss  Annie  Stanton  and  Bessie ; 
and,  after  taking  off  his  hat  to  the  young  lady, 
he  answered,  — 

"  I  think  not  to-night,  Maggie.  At  least  I 
do  not  like  to  take  it  upon  myself  to  give  her 
leave ;  for  she  had  a  bad  sore  throat  yesterday, 
and  I  do  not  think  mamma  would  like  to  have 
her  out  in  the  evening  air." 

Lily  looked  as  if  she  were  about  to  cry,  and 
Maggie  and  Bessie  also  looked  disappointed. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Bessie,  cheering  up  in 
one  moment ;  "  it  will  be  just  as  good  if  you 
come  to-morrow  and  spend  the  day.  Mamma 
said  we  could  ask  you  to  do  that  if  you  could 


The  Silver  Inkstand.  59 

not  come  this  afternoon ;  and  we  will  have  you 
a  longer  time,  Lily." 

"  That's  putting  off,  though,"  said  Lily,  with 
a  pout,  "  and  I've  just  made  up  my  mind  not 
to  do  it." 

Tom  laughed,  and  so  did  Miss  Annie,  both 
somewhat  amused  at  Lily's  haste  to  practise 
the  new  virtue  as  soon  as  it  fell  in  with  her 
own  wishes ;  but  Maggie  and  Bessie  thought 
this  a  very  sensible  view  of  the  matter. 

"  But  one  may  put  off  a  thing  when  it  comes 
in  the  way  of  a  duty,  or  of  another  thing 
which  should  be  attended  to  first,"  said  Annie 
Stanton.  "  When  mamma's  wishes  and  your 
pleasure  come  in  the  way  of  one  another, 
which  should  you  put  first  ?  " 

"  Why,  what  mamma  wishes,  Miss  Annie. 
I  should  think  I  would  do  what  mamma  wants 
first.  Anyway  I  ought  to  would"  added  Lily, 
thinking  of  her  shortcomings  of  that  very  day. 

"  Then  you  see  you  may  put  off  coining  to 
Maggie  and  Bessie  till  to-morrow,  since  your 
mamma  does  not  wish  you  to  be  out  at  night," 


60  Lily  JVorrzY  Enemy, 

said  Miss  Stanton ;  and  with  this  agreement, 
the  little  friends  parted. 

"  I  see,"  said  Lily,  demurely,  but  with  a 
gleam  of  mischief  in  her  eye,  —  "I  see  people 
don't  think  it  is  as  much  harm  to  put  off 
things  you  want  to  do  as  it  is  to  put  off  what 
you  don't  want  to  do." 

"  Well,"  said  Tom,  smiling,  "  you  see  that 
is  where  it  is,  Lil.  We  are  so  apt  to  think  it 
will  do  to  put  off  what  we  do  not  care  to  do 
very  much,  —  any  little  duty  or  task;  but  if 
it  is  some  pleasure,  we  are  generally  ready 
enough  to  do  it  at  once." 

"  Maggie  thinks  I  put  off  pleasures  too," 
said  Lily.  "  She  was  real  provoked  with  me 
'cause  I  kept  them  waiting  to  go  to  the  party 
the  other  day." 

"  Do  you  like  other  people  to  keep  you  wait- 
ing, Lily  ?  " 

"No,  indeed,  I  don't,"  said  Lily. 

"  Then  ought  you  not  to  be  careful  how  you 
do  it  to  others  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  know,  Tom,  and  I  don't  mean  to  do 


The  Silver  Inkstand.  61 

it ;  but  somehow  I  do.  But  now  you  see  if  I 
do  not  improve  myself  a  good  deal  of  this 
habit,"  said  Lily,  confidently,  yet  carelessly ; 
for  it  was  plainly  to  be  seen  that  she  thought 
this  vexatious  fault  of  but  little  consequence. 

Lily  had  meant  to  confess  to  her  mother 
how  neglectful  she  had  been  of  her  wishes; 
but  when  she  and  Tom  reached  home,  they 
found  with  Mrs.  Norris  a  lady  who  had  been 
invited  to  dinner.  So  Lily  thought  she  would 
postpone  her  confession  until  by  and  by,  and 
not  draw  upon  herself  her  mother's  grave  and 
reproachful  look  in  the  presence  of  company. 

I  do  not  know  that  she  was  to  blame  for 
this.  Few  little  girls  but  would  have  done  the 
same,  I  think ;  and  Lily  had  no  idea  that  any 
mischief  or  loss  had  come  from  her  procrasti- 
nation. 

Dinner  was  over,  Tom  gone  upstairs  to  pre- 
pare his  lessons  for  to-morrow,  and  Lily,  in  her 
favorite  evening  seat, — that  is,  perched  upon 
the  arm  of  her  father's  chair  while  he  read  his 
paper,  —  was  happily  playing  with  some  paper 


62  Lily  Nor r if  Enemy. 

dolls,  while  mamma  and  her  friend  sat  opposite, 
talking,  when  a  person  came  with  a  message 
requiring  an  immediate  answer. 

Mrs.  Norris  went  to  her  secretary  and  wrote 
the  note,  using  for  the  purpose  an  ordinary 
inkstand  which  belonged  there  ;  and  then  said 
approvingly  to  Lily,  — 

"  My  pet,  how  nicely  you  put  away  mamma's 
writing  things;  all  the  papers  in  their  proper 
places  and  order.  Pretty  well  done  for  such 
a  little  girl." 

"  Mamma,"  said  Lily,  wishing  that  she  need 
not  speak  before  Miss  Hamilton,  but  too  honest 
to  take  credit  which  was  not  her  just  due, — 
"  Mamma,  I  did  not  put  them  away ;  it  was 
Tom.  I  —  I  —  forgot,  mamma.  I  waited  to 
look  at  a  monkey  before  I  put  them  away,  and 
then  the  puppy  came,  and  Tom  took  me  out ; 
and  I  forgot  all  about  your  things,  and  how  I 
had  promised,  and  never  remembered  till  we 
were  out  in  the  street ;  and  then  Tom  told  me 
he  had  put  them  away,  but  he  didn't  know  you 
had  told  me  to  do  it." 


The  Silver  Inkstand.  63 

It  was  all  out  now  ;  and  Lily,  as  she  glanced 
at  Miss  Hamilton,  felt  as  if  she  could  not  be 
thankful  enough  to  that  lady  for  seeming  so 
absorbed  in  the  photograph  album  she  was 
turning  over. 

Mrs.  Norris  uttered  no  word  of  reproach ; 
but,  as  she  looked  within  the  well-ordered 
secretary,  she  said, — 

"  Where  did  Tom  put  the  silver  inkstand  ? 
I  do  not  see  it." 

"  I  don't  know,  mamma,"  answered  Lily. 
"  Is  it  not  there  ?  Tom  said  he  came  in  here 
and  saw  your  things  lying  on  the  table,  and  he 
thought  you  must  have  forgotten  them,  so  he 
put  them  all  away.  Shall  I  go  and  ask  him 
what  he  did  with  the  inkstand  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  her  mother,  "  I  do  not  wish  to 
disturb  him  at  his  lessons.  I  will  look  further." 

But  further  search  proved  vain,  though  Mrs. 
Norris  looked,  not  only  through  each  nook  and 
partition  of  the  secretary,  but  also  all  over  the 
room.  Still  she  was  not'  at  all  disturbed  at  the 
non-appearance  of  the  inkstand. 


64  Lily  Norris'  Enemy, 

"  Send  up  and  ask  Tom,  my  dear,"  said  Mr. 
Norris. 

"  Oh,  it  is  not  necessary,"  said  his  wife. 
"  He  may  have  put  it  in  some  unusual  place. 
If  he  took  care  of  it,  it  is  quite  safe.  He  will 
be  down  presently,  and  I  do  not  care  to  in- 
terrupt him." 

"  See  what  it  is  to  have  a  good  character, 
Lily,"  said  her  father,  passing  his  arm  about 
the  little  figure  on  the  arm  of  his  chair,  and 
smiling  into  the  rosy^  mischievous  face  before 
him.  "  How  long  before  mamma  will  be  able 
to  put  such  trust  in  you,  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  Oh,  very  soon,  papa ;  you'll  see,"  said  Lily, 
confident  in  the  strength  of  her  newly  formed 
resolution. 

It  was  not  long  before  Tom  made  good  his 
mother's  words  by  appearing,  his  lessons  all 
ready  for  the  next  day,  for  it  happened  that  he 
had  not  had  much  to  do  that  evening  ;  and  Mrs. 
Norris  immediately  asked  him, — 

"  What  did  you  do  with  my  silver  inkstand, 
my  boy  ? " 


The  Silver  Inkstand.  65 

"  I  did  not  have  it,  mamma,"  was  the 
Answer. 

"  But  you  put  it  away  this  afternoon,  did 
you  not  ?  " 

"  No,"  answered  Tom,  wonderingly,  but 
positively. 

"  Why,  yes,  Tom,"  said  Lily,  "  you  told  me 
you  had  put  away  all  mamma's  things  that 
she  left  on  the  table." 

"  But  there  was  no  inkstand  there,"  said 
Tom.  "  I  remember  noticing  that,  because  I 
said  to  myself,  '  Mamma  has  taken  time  to  put 
by  her  ink ; '  and  I  supposed  you  had  feared  it 
would  be  spilled,  mamma.  There  was  no  ink 
stand  upon  the  table,  I  am  sure." 

"  Did  you  move  the  inkstand  at  all,  Lily  ?  " 
asked  Mrs.  Norris. 

"  No,  mamma,  I  never  touched  it.  I  did 
not  put  away  one  single  thing." 

Tom  helped  his  mother  in  a  fresh  search  for 
the  missing  inkstand  ;  but  all  in  vain. 

Then  the  servant  man  was  called,  and  ques- 
tioned. 

6 


66  Lily  Norrii  Enemy, 

"  I  saw  Miss  Lily  with  her  hand  on  the  ink- 
stand when  I  called  her  to  see  the  little  dogs 
this  afternoon,  ma'am,"  he  said,  in  reply  to 
Mrs.  Norris's  inquiries.  "  Do  you  remember, 
if  you  please,  Miss  Lily  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Lily.  "  I  remember  now, 
mamma.  I  did  take  it  up  to  put  it  away,  but 
I  set  it  down  again  when  I  ran  after  Robert  to 
see  the  puppies.  I  meant  to  come  right  back, 
but  I  never  thought  of  it  again." 

"  Master  Tom,"  said  Robert, "  you  were  asking 
me  had  I  seen  a  beggar-woman  about  the  door 
this  afternoon.  Could  she  have  been  in  here, 
and  caught  up  the  inkstand?  If  she'd  just 
opened  the  library  door,  and  peeped  in,  it  would 
have  been  the  first  thing  she'd  see,  for  it  stood 
right  here,  where  Miss  Lily  left  it." 

Tom  looked  dismayed,  and  Lily  still  more 
so  ;  for,  if  the  inkstand  were  indeed  stolen,  was 
it  not  all  her  fault  ?  Owing  to  her  procrastina- 
tion, to  the  putting  off  of  the  small  service  her 
mother  had  asked  of  her  ?  And  so  it  proved  ; 
for  nothing  could  be  found  of  the  inkstand, 


The  Silver  Inkstand.  67 

and  it  was  never  heard  of  again.  Its  loss 
could  be  accounted  for  in  no  other  way  than  by 
supposing  that  the  woman,  finding  the  door 
left  open,  and  learning  from  Lily's  imprudent 
words  that  there  was  no  one  about  to  interfere 
with  her,  had  walked  in,  opened  the  library 
door,  and  seeing  the  inkstand,  had  snatched  it 
up,  and  made  off  with  it. 

Lily's  shame  and  grief  were  very  great,  all 
the  more  so  because  she  knew  that  this  ink- 
stand was  dearly  loved  and  valued  by  her 
mamma,  because  it  had  been  the  gift  of  a  dead 
sister.  And  seeing  this,  her  mother  could  not 
bear  to  reproach  her,  for  it  was  very  unusual 
for  Lily  to  take  her  own  wrong-doing  much  to 
heart.  But  this  was,  as  she  said  herself,  "  the 
worst  consequence  I  ever  did  in  all  my  long 
life ; "  and  she  probably  felt  it  all  the  more 
deeply  for  her  kind  mother's  forbearance. 

That  she  was  sufficiently  punished  by  her 
own  remorse  was  plainly  to  be  seen ;  and  long 
after  she  was  in  bed  and  fast  asleep,  her 
mother   heard   long   sobs   heaving   her    little 


68  Lily  JVorrts*  Enemy. 

breast,   and  found   her    pillow   aJl   wet  with 
tears. 

"  My  poor  little  one !  I  hope  it  may  be  a 
lasting  lesson  to  her,"  said  the  mother,  as  she 
pushed  back  the  hair  from  the  flushed  and 
tear-stained  face.  "  If  it  should  be,  I  shall 
think  it  cheaply  purchased  even  by  the  loss  of 
my  much  valued  inkstand." 


IV. 


LILTS  PROVERB  PICTURE. 


ILY  was  still  in  a  very  subdued  and 
melancholy  frame  of  mind  when  she 
reached  the  Bradfords'  house  on  the 
following  day ;  and  when  her  little  playmates 
inquired  the  cause,  she  made  answer, — 

"  If  mamma  had  given  me  my  deservings, 
she  would  have  shut  me  up  in  a  room  by  my- 
self, and  never  let  me  come  out  in  all  my  life, 
nor  come  to  spend  the  day  with  you  any  more. 
It's  a  great  deal  too  good  for  such  a  sinner  as 
me,  and  something  ought  to  be  done  to  me.  I 
don't  mean  to  have  a  nice  time  to-day." 

This  virtuous  resolution  was  forgotten,  how- 


70  Lily  JYorris'  Enemy. 

ever,  before  the  day  was  over ;  but  at  the  time 
it  much  astonished  her  young  friends,  as  did 
also  the  low  state  of  Lily's  spirits. 

Fresh  questions  followed  ;  and  Lily  told  her 
story,  mingling  her  own  bitter  self-accusations 
with  reproaches  against  the  supposed  thief. 

"  For  I  told  her  she  was  not  to  come  in, 
'cause  there  was  no  one  about  to  'tend  to  her," 
she  said,  as  if  this  were  an  added  aggravation 
of  her  sorrows;  "  and  I  only  left  the  door  open 
for  fear  her  feelings  would  be  hurt ;  but  now  1 
don't  b'lieve  she  had  any  to  hurt.  I  don't 
s'pose  thieves  have  many  feelings,  do  you,  Mag- 
gie?" 

"  No,  I  don't  believe  they  have,"  answered 
Maggie.  "  I  just  expect  their  feelings  are 
'  lost  to  sight,  and  not  to  memory  dear.' " 

This  fine  sentiment,  having  been  properly 
appreciated,  called  up  the  recollection  of  the 
promised  proverb  picture. 

"  Did  you  find  a  proverb  that  would  be  a 
lesson  for  mo,  or  did  you  have  to  make  one  ?  " 
asked  mournful  Lily. 


Lily's  Proverb  Picture.  71 

"  Mamma  told  us  one,"  said  Maggie.  "  It 
is  '  Procrastination  is  the  thief  of  Time.'  " 

"  You'd  better  say  the  thief  of  inkstands," 
said  Lily,  ruefully.  "  Maggie  and  Bessie  and 
Belle,  I  feel  'most  as  if  it  was  me  who  had 
stolen  mamma's  inkstand." 

The  other  little  girls  all  set  about  consoling 
her ;  and  Bessie  took  an  opportunity  to  whis- 
per to  Maggie  that  she  thought  they  had  better 
not  give  Lily  the  proverb  picture  that  day  be- 
cause it  might  make  her  feel  worse. 

But  this  was  not  by  any  means  Lily's  view 
of  the  matter ;  and  she  presently  asked  to  be 
shown  this  joint  production  of  her  three  little 
friends,  Maggie  and  Bessie  and  Belle. 

Accordingly,  the  picture,  or  rather  pictures, 
were  brought  forth,  and  with  them  the  poem 
which  Maggie  had  composed  to  accompany 
them. 

When  the  red  ribbon  which  tied  the  first 
was  taken  off,  and  the  pictures  unrolled,  they 
proved  quite  a  panorama ;  and  Lily's  mourn- 
ful face  lighted  up  at  the  sight. 


72  Lily  JVbrrtf  Enemy. 

"  How  good  of  you !  "  she  said.  "  It  must 
nave  taken  you  ever  so  long  to  draw  all  those 
pictures." 

"  There  are  four  of  them,"  said  Bessie. 
"  Belle  made  two,  'cause  she  can  draw  the 
best,  and  Maggie  made  one,  and  I  one ;  but 
Maggie  made  'most  all  the  ideas.  I  think 
they're  so  very  plain  you  can  make  them  out 
for  yourself,  Lily,  but  we'll  'splain  them  to  you 
if  you  like." 

"  I'll  see  how  much  I  can  find  out,  and  you 
can  tell  me  the  rest,"  said  Lily,  setting  herself 
at  once  to  the  study  of  the  drawings. 

"  What's  the  reading  on  this  one  ? "  she 
asked.  " P-r-o-pro-c-r-a-s-cras  —  Oh!  I  s'pose 
this  is  '  Procrastination  is  the  thief  of  Time.'  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Maggie. 

"  And  this  is  a  skeleton,"  said  Lily,  "  a 
skeleton  with  a  goblet  in  one  hand,  and  a  — 
and  a  "  —  Lily  hesitated,  wishing  to  be  sure  to 
hit  the  right  nail  on  the  head  —  "  and  a  —  I'm 
not  quite  sure  if  it's  a  feather  dust-brush,  or  a 
coachman's  whip." 


Lily's  Proverb  Picture.  73 

"  Oh !  "  exclaimed  Belle,  indignant. 

"  Why,  Lily ! "  said  Bessie,  "  that's  Time  with 
his  hour-glass  and  scythe,  and  Belle  drew  that 
picture,  and  we  think  it's  the  very  best  one  of 
all." 

"  I'm  sorry,"  said  Lily,  rather  ashamed  of 
not  having  at  once  recognized  the  articles  in 
question. 

"  You  know  in  the  pictures  Time  is  always 
a  very  thin  old  man,"  said  Bessie,  "  so  we  had 
to  make  him  so  to  have  it  real ;  and  Maggie 
told  Belle  she'd  better  make  him  as  thin  as 
she  could,  'cause  that  horrid  thief  Procrasti- 
nation bothers  him  so  he  hardly  has  any  flesh 
on  his  bones.  This  is  a  kind  of  allegory  pic- 
ture, you  see,  Lily." 

"  Yes,  I  understand.  And  this  rather  beg- 
gar-looking child  — "  Lily  hesitated  again, 
unwilling  to  run  the  risk  of  making  any  more 
such  uncomplimentary  mistakes.  "  I  think 
you'd  better  tell  me  about  it.  I'm  'fraid  I'm 
rather  stupid  this  morning.  I  think  I  went 
crazy  last  night  about  that  inkstand,  and  I'm 


74  Lily  JVornY  Enemy, 

hardly  recovered  yet.  I  b'lieve  that's  the  rea- 
son I  didn't  know  Time's  hour-glass  and  scythe 
at  first." 

Never  before  had  her  little  friends  known 
Lily  to  speak  and  look  with  such  solemnity, 
and  they  all  felt  very  much  for  her. 

Maggie,  however,  thought  it  well  to  improve 
the  occasion. 

"  I  did  not  want  to  seem  severe  with  her," 
she  said  afterward  to  Bessie  and  Belle,  "  but 
I  thought  the  picture  might  make  a  deeper 
impression  if  I  let  her  see  to  what  a  dreadful 
condition  procrastinating  people  might  come." 

"  Yes,"  she  said  to  Lily,  "  yes,  that  is  Pro- 
crastination, all  ragged  and  dirty  and  starved. 
He  never  has  a  nice  time,  and  he  hardly 
ever  has  any  thing  to  eat,  'cause  when  people 
say  to  him,  '  Procrastination,  dinner  is  ready,' 
he  says,  '  I  think  I'll  eat  by  and  by ; '  and  then 
when  he  comes,  the  dinner  is  all  gone,  and  he 
has  to  go  hungry  :  and  when  they  say,  '  Go 
and  get  washed,  and  have  on  clean  clothes,' 
he  says,  '  Another  day  I  will ; '  so  he  becomes 


Lily's  Proverb  Picture,  75 

all  ragged,  and  his  friends  are  so  ashamed  of 
him  that  they  just  let  him  take  care  of  himself. 
That's  the  way  he  looks  so  horridly.  And 
poor  old  Time  hardly  knows  what  to  do  with 
himself  for  the  way  that  troublesome  fel- 
low worries  him.  He  doesn't  leave  Time 
alone  to  clo  his  duty  one  minute.  Do  you  see 
these  things  in  Procrastination's  hand  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  what  are  they  ?  "  asked  Lily,  deeply 
interested. 

"  They  are  Time's  purse  and  pocket  hand- 
kerchief that  Procrastination  —  I  think  we'd 
better  call  him  Pro,  because  it  takes  so  long  to 
say  Procrastination  —  that  Pro  has  stolen 
out  of  his  pocket ;  and  here  at  his  feet  are 
some  broken  hour-glasses  ;  and  now  he  is  run- 
ning after  Time,  and  trying  to  steal  his  last 
hour-glass,  so  that  the  poor  old  fellow  will  have 
none  left.  That  means,  when  you're  not  talk- 
ing allegory,  that  Pro  steals  the  hours  and 
makes  you  lose  all  your  time ;  but  he  can  not 
catch  him  up,  which  means  that  when  you  have 
lost  your  time,  you  never  can  catch  up  with  it. " 


76  Lily  Norrii  Enemy. 

"  Yes,  "  said  Lily,  dolefully ;  "  but  I  think  it 
would  be  better  if  you  made  Pro  stealing  ink- 
stands. It's  just  what  I  deserve.  Is  that  all 
about  that  picture  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  answered  Maggie ;  "  now  we  come  to 
real  life.  Bessie,  this  is  your  picture  ;  tell 
Lily  about  it." 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  ragged  figure 
which  represented  Procrastination,  or  "  Pro," 
was  to  be  seen  in  each  successive  picture. 
This  was  considered  a  judicious  mingling  of 
the  allegorical  with  reality. 

"This,"  said  Bessie,  "  is  a  little  girl  whose 
mamma  said  to  her,  i  My  dear,  there  is  a 
match  upon  the  carpet ;  pick  it  up  right 
away.'  But  Procrastination  "  —  Bessie  would 
not  on  any  account  have  shortened  her  words, 
especially  on  such  a  grave  occasion  —  "came 
and  whispered  to  her,  '  By  and  by  will  do ; 
it's  time  enough ;  '  and  presently  her  little 
sister  came  in  and  picked  up  the  match, 
and  set  herself  on  fire,  and  she  was  quite 
burnt  up  before  she  could  be  put  out,  and  she 


Lily's  Proverb  Picture.  77 

was  the  only  sister  the  put-offing  child  had, 
and  she  stayed  unhappy  all  the  rest  of  the 
days   of  her  life." 

"  Like  me,"  said  Lily. 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  Maggie,  cheerfully,  "  you'll 
get  over  that  inkstand.  I  find  people  gener- 
ally do  get  over  things  ;  at  least,  I  do.  Take 
courage  by  me,  Lily.  I  thought  I  never  should 
recover  having  papa's  coat  stolen,  but  you  see 
I  have  ;  and  I  think  I'm  about  as  happy  as  any 
child  could  be." 

"  Ah  !  but  you  wasn't  disobedient,  and  didn't 
put  off,"  said  Lily.     "  Tell  me  some  more." 

"  Perhaps  we'd  better  not,  'cause  you  feel 
so  badly,"  said  Bessie. 

"  They  do  me  good,"  answered  Lily.  "  I 
don't  think  I  can  care  for  any  thing  else  to-day. 
Who  made  this  picture  ?  " 

"  I  did,"  said  Maggie,  "  and  this  is  the  story 
of  it.  This  is  fable  or  allegory  too ; "  and, 
unrolling  another  sheet  of  paper,  Maggie  read 
aloud  her  famous  poem,  which  had  been  pro- 
nounced a  great  success  by  both   Bessie  and 


78  Lily  JVbmY  Enemy. 

Belle.  Her  picture  consisted  of  a  series  of 
small  drawings,  which  explained  themselves 
as  she  read  the  verses. 

"  There's  a  bad  little  fellow, 
His  name  it  is  Pro- 
Cras  -  tin  -  a  -  ti  -  on ; 
And  to  you  I  will  show 
How  he  robs  and  he  steals 
And  he  plagues  Father  Time. 
I'll  tell  you  all  this, 
And  I'll  tell  you  in  rhyme. 

When  to  school  he  is  sent, 
He  most  slowly  doth  go, 
For  he  stops  first  to  play, 
Then  to  look  at  some  show  ; 
By  the  hour  he  is  there, 
Why  !  the  school  is  'most  out. 
That's  one  way  he  robs  Time, 
This  sad  putting-ofF  lout. 

When  his  mother  doth  say, 
'  Go  this  errand  for  me,' 
He  will  say,  '  By  and  by ; ' 
'  Pretty  soon  ; '  '  I  will  see  ;' 
Till  at  last  'tis  too  late, 
Or  his  mother  must  go. 
'  Tis  a  base,  heartless  crime, 
For  a  child  to  do  so 

But  there's  worse  yet  to  tell, 
For  to  church  he  goes  late ; 


Lily's  Proverb  Picture*  79 


And  he  reaches  God's  house 
In  a  sad,  dirty  state  ; 
For  he  never  is  dressed, 
And  he  never  is  clean. 
That  'tis  all  putting  off, 
Is  quite  plain  to  be  seen. 

He  ne'er  has  a  book, 
Or  a  toy,  or  a  pet, 
For  to  put  them  away 
He  doth  always  forget  ; 
So  they're  broken  or  lost, 
Or  most  shamefully  torn ; 
And  he's  nothing  to  do, 
Which  is  very  forlorn. 

Take  heed  now,  ye  children, 
And  list  to  my  tale  ; 
What  e'er  you've  to  do, 
Do  at  once,  without  fail  ; 
For  if  you'd  be  happy, 
And  useful,  and  gay, 
Don't  put  off  till  to-morrow 
The  work  of  to-day. 

Eemember,  'tis  minutes 
That  make  up  the  hours  ; 
As  the  small,  tiny  seeds 
Bring  the  beautiful  flowers. 
Don't  procrastinate  then, 
O  ye  daughters  of  earth  ! 
For  woman's  but  grass 
From  the  day  of  her  birth. " 


80  Lily  JVbrrts?  Enemy, 

In  the  ears  of  the  little  listeners  this  was  a 
perfect  gem  of  poetry,  far  beyond  any  thing 
Maggie  had  ever  written  before,  whether  it 
were  "  divine  song,"  or  "  moral  poem."  The 
concluding  lines  were  considered  particularly 
fine,  and,  indeed,  had  been  added  on  account  of 
their  striking  effect. 

Bessie  and  Belle  had  heard  it  before,  but 
they  listened  with  rapt  attention,  and  Lily  was 
very  much  impressed.  The  third  verse  she  felt 
particularly  adapted  to  her  case,  though  Maggie 
had  intended  no  home  thrust  when  she  wrote 
it.  But,  to  Lily's  mind,  it  just  suited  the  affair 
of  the  inkstand ;  and  when  Maggie  finished 
reading,  she  exclaimed, — 

"  I  should  think  I  was  a  base,  heartless 
crime  I " 

The  children  all  hastened  to  console  her, 
and  to  assure  her  that  they  thought  she  would 
not  fail  to  improve,  now  that  she  saw  her  fault 
so  plainly. 

"  I  didn't  mean  that  the  child  in  the  poem 
was  really  you,"    said  Maggie.     "That's  the 


Lilfs  Proverb  Picture.  81 

reason  I  made  Pro  a  boy  instead  of  a  girl.  I 
only  wanted  to  show  you  what  people  might 
come  to  who  procrastinated  all  the  time,  and 
never  were  punctual." 

Maggie's  drawing,  as  you  have  heard,  was 
divided  up  into  a  number  of  smaller  pictures, 
each  one  suited  to  a  particular  verse  of  the 
poem;  and  they  explained  themselves  to  one 
who  had  read  or  heard  the  latter. 

The  fourth  and  last  picture  had  been  drawn 
by  Belle,  the  chief  artist  among  the  little  party. 

This  also  represented  Father  Time,  who  had 
now  grown  fat  and  nourishing,  which  was 
somewhat  singular  under  the  circumstances 
He  was  accompanied  by  another  burly  figure, 
and  both  were  armed  with  many  lashes  and 
whips  with  which  they  chased  "  Pro,"  now 
himself  reduced  to  a  skeleton  state,  and  vainly 
endeavoring  to  escape  from  his  tormentors. 

"  This,"  said  Belle,  "  is  my  drawing,  but  it 
is  Maggie's  idea,  and  Bessie  and  I  think  it  is 
pretty  grand.  Here  is  that  naughty  Pro,  and 
he  has  lost  every  thing  and  every  one  he  had 


82  Lily  Nor  r  is*  Enemy. 

in  the  world,  all  through  his  own  putting  off; 
and  here,"  pointing  to  little  dots  and  round  o's 
with  which  the  page  was  covered,  "  here  are 
the  hours  and  minutes  flying  away  from  him 
too.  The  largest  ones  are  the  hours ;  the 
little  ones,  the  minutes.  And  here  are  Father 
Time  and  Remorse  coming  after  him  with 
their  —  their  —  What  kind  of  whips  do  they 
have,  Maggie  ?  " 

"  Scorpion  whips,"  answered  Maggie.  "  It 
was  a  very  convenient  thing  that  I  happened 
to  read  the  other  day  about  the  i  scorpion  whip 
of  Remorse,'  and  it  just  gave  me  the  idea  for 
this  picture.  It  means  that  when  we  feel  very 
badly  about  something  we  know  we  deserve,  it 
is  just  as  bad  as  the  stings  of  scorpions  and 
bugs  and  other  horrid  things.  And  I  thought 
we'd  make  believe  Remorse  had  two  scorpion 
whips,  and  lent  one  to  Time  to  chase  Procras- 
tination with." 

"  Here's  the  ocean,"  said  Belle,  directing 
Lily's  attention  to  where  high,  curling  wave? 
were  supposed  to  be  leaping  and  dashing  up 


Lily's  Proverb  Picture,  83 

ward,  "  and  Pro  was  running  away  so  fast 
from  those  dreadful  scorpion  whips  that  he 
never  saw  it,  but  ran  right  into  the  water,  and 
was  drowned  ;  and  that  was  the  end  of  Mm" 

Belle's  tone  was  very  triumphant  when  she 
uttered  the  Jast  word,  as  though  she  were  glad 
to  have  thus  disposed  of  a  troublesome  cus- 
tomer. 

"  I'm  sure,"  said  Lily,  with  an  air  of  melan- 
choly satisfaction,  "  I'm  sure  I'm  very  much 
obliged  to  you  all  for  taking  so  much  trouble 
to  improve  me  ;  and  I  don't  see  how  I  can  help 
being  better  now." 

"  Then  that's  all  we  ask,"  said  Maggie, 
"  and  we  shan't  regret  any  trouble  we  took. 
Now  let's  go  and  play." 

If  the  other  children  had  had  any  fears  that 
Lily's  remorse  and  the  "  lesson "  they  had 
given  her  would  interfere  with  her  enjoyment 
of  the  day,  such  fears  were  soon  put  to  flight ; 
for  in  ten  minutes  she  was  as  merry  and 
roguish  as  ever,  and  quite  disposed  to  join  in 
all  the  entertainment  provided  for  her. 


V. 


PROMISING. 


OW  many  of   my  little  girls  would 
like   to   help   in   a   good  work  ? " 
asked  Miss   Ashton,  some   two  or 
three  days  after  this. 

Ten  little  hands  went  up.  Ten?  Nay,  I 
think  there  were  thirteen  or  fourteen  ;  for  some 
of  the  children  were  not  content  with  holding 
up  one,  but  raised  both  in  their  zeal  to  show 
Miss  Ashton  they  were  ready  to  do  what  she 
asked. 

Miss  Ashton  went  on  to  explain. 
"  I  think  you  will  all  remember,"  she  said, 
"  the  lame  soldier  who  was  run  over  and  killed 
on  the  corner  of  this  street  ?  " 


Promising,  85 

There  was  a  murmur  of  assenting  voices, 
and  little  Belle  added, — 

"  Papa  said  it  was  a  very  generous  thing  for 
you  and  Mrs.  Ashton  to  take  care  of  his  three 
children,  Miss  Ashton  ;  and  I  think  so  too." 

Miss  Ashton  smiled  at  her,  and  continued,  — 

"  But  we  could  not  take  care  of  them  always, 
dear  Belle,  and  through  the  kindness  of  some 
friends  we  have  found  a  pleasant  home  in  the 
country  for  them.  It  is  necessary  that  they 
should  be  comfortably  fitted  out  before  we  send 
them  there,  however,  and  my  uncle  says  that  he 
will  provide  all  the  materials  that  the  school 
will  make  up.  The  young  ladies  in  my  mother's 
room  say  they  will  make  all  the  dresses  and 
more  difficult  garments,  and  leave  the  simple 
and  easier  ones  for  you,  if  you  choose  to  help. 
But  before  you  make  any  promises,  I  wish  you 
to  ask  your  parents'  permission,  and  also  to 
make  up  your  minds  to  have  the  garment  you 
take  finished  by  the  end  of  two  weeks,  when 
the  children  are  to  leave  for  their  new  home. 
You  nearly  all  sew  well  enough  to  do  the  easy 


86  Lily  JVorrz's'  Enemy, 

work  upon  these  little  skirts  and  aprons,  and  I 
think  your  friends  at  home  will  give  you  what 
help  you  may  need." 

"  But,  Miss  Ashton,"  said  little  Belle,  with 
woe-begone  voice  and  look,  "  I  can  hardly  sew 
at  all.  Aunt  Margaret  has  just  begun  to  teach 
me,  and  she  says  I  do  take  pains,  but  I  b'lieve 
I  do  it  pretty  badly  yet." 

"  And  I  don't  know  how  to  sew,"  said  her 
cousin,  Mabel  Walton,  who  now  was  sorry  that 
she  had  always  obstinately  refused  to  learn 
how  to  use  a  needle. 

"  I  think  we  can  find  some  easy  thing  for 
you  both  to  do,"  said  Miss  Ashton,  kindly. 
"  But  remember,  dear  children,  what  you 
promise,  you  must  perform.  If  you  undertake 
this  work,  you  must  have  it  finished  at  the  end 
of  the  time  I  have  named,  —  two  weeks.  I  do 
not  ash  you  to  do  it,  for  the  older  girls  are 
willing  to  do  all  the  work  ;  but  I  thought  it 
might  be  a  pleasure  to  you  to  help." 

"  Oh,  yes  !  indeed  it  will,  Miss  Ashton," 
eaid  Lily,  "  and  I'd  like  to  have  two  clothes  to 


Promising.  87 

make.  Mamma  says  I  can  sew  pretty  well 
fur  such  a  little  girl,  and  Nora  will  show  me 
how." 

"  One  garment  will  be  enough  for  you,  Lily," 
said  Miss  Ash  ton  ;  "  if  you  finish  that  in  time, 
it  is  all  we  shall  need." 

"  You  need  not  be  afraid  I  won't  have  it 
done  in  time,  Miss  Ashton,"  said  Lily.  "  1 
don't  put  off  any  more,  nor  be  unpunctual 
either.  I've  been  early  at  school  every  morn- 
ing this  week,"  —  this  was  Tuesday,  —  "and 
mamma  said  I  was  beginning  to  improve.  1 
couldn't  help  it  very  well,  I  had  such  a  horrid 
lesson  about  an  old  beggar-woman  who  was 
nothing  but  a  thief ;  and  then  Maggie  and 
Bessie  and  Belle  made  me  lovely  proverb 
pictures  about  the  consequences  of  procrasti- 
nation, and  Maggie  wrote  a  splendid  poem,  so 
I  ought  to  learn  better  with  all  that." 

"  I  think  so,"  said  Miss  Ashton;  " but,  by  the 
way,  I  wonder  if  Maggie  and  Bessie  would  not 
like  to  join  us  in  this  work.  They  always  take 
such  an  interest  in  all  that  goes  on  among  us 


88  Lily  JVornV  Enemy. 

here  that  perhaps  they  would  be  pleased  if  we 
offered  to  let  them  help." 

"  Yes,  I  know  they  would,"  cried  Belle, 
always  ready  to  speak  in  praise  of  her  beloved 
little  playmates.  "  I  know  they  would.  Mag- 
gie and  Bessie  are  very  full  of  good  works  ;  and 
they  always  like  to  do  what  we  do,  if  they  can, 
too." 

"  Very  well, "  said  Miss  Ashton.  "  You 
can  ask  them  when  you  see  them,  Belle  ;  and 
if  they  would  like  to  help  us,  tell  them  to  come 
in  to-morrow,  at  the  close  of  school.  You 
can  all  bring  me  word  then  if  your  parents  are 
willing  for  you  to  undertake  this  work, 
and  I  will  give  each  one  a  piece  to  take 
home." 

The  next  morning  each  little  girl  brought 
word  that  she  had  received  permission  to  take 
home  and  make  such  a  garment  as  Miss  Ash 
ton  should  see  fit  to  give  her  ;  and  they  had 
all  been  promised  help  and  teaching  by  their 
mammas  or  other  friends. 

The  curiosity  and  interest  of  the  class  hav~ 


Promising.  89 

ing  been  much  excited  by  Lily's  glowing 
account  of  the  "proverb  picture"  and  poem 
furnished  her  by  Maggie,  Bessie,  and  Belie, 
she  had  been  persuaded  to  bring  them  with 
her  ;  and  being  punctual  for  the  third  morning, 
she  exhibited  them  before  school  was  opened, 
to  the  great  satisfaction  and  delight  of  the  other 
children.  They  were  also  displayed  to  Miss 
Ashton. 

"  Maggie  is  quite  a  Murphy,  isn't  she,  Miss 
Ashton  ?  "  said  Lily. 

"  A  what,  dear  ?  "  asked  the  young  lady, 
much  puzzled. 

"  A  Murphy  —  a  M-m-ur-phy, "  said  Lily, 
putting  severe  and  long  emphasis  on  the  word, 
as  she  saw  that  her  teacher  did  not  yet  under- 
stand. "  Don't  you  know  what  a  Murphy  is, 
Miss  Ashton  ?  It  means  some  one  very  wise 
and  good,  who  teaches  right  things." 

"  Oh !  "  said  Miss  Ashton,  smiling,  as  light 
broke  in  upon  her  ;  "  you  mean  a  Mentor,  do 
you  not,  Lily  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  that's  it,"  said  Lily ;  "  but  I  thought 


90  Lily  JVorris'  Enemy, 

it  was  Murphy.  But  I  think  Murphy  is  just 
as  pretty  a  name  as  Mentor." 

"  But  people  would  understand  your  mean- 
ing better  if  you  put  the  right  name,  Lily," 
said  Miss  Ashton,  as  she  rang  the  bell  for 
silence. 

Maggie  and  Bessie  had  told  Belle  that  they 
would  be  very  glad  to  join  in  the  work  of 
making  clothes  for  the  poor  little  orphans  ;  and 
accordingly,  when  school  was  over  and  word 
was  brought  that  they  were  below,  she  was 
sent  to  bring  them  up  to  the  school-room. 
Places  were  soon  found  for  them  among  their 
former  school-mates,  who  were  all  delighted  to 
see  them ;  and,  as  Bessie  said,  "  it  seemed 
quite  as  if  they  were  all  young   again." 

Then  Miss  Ashton  had  a  large  basket  of 
work  brought  in,  and  took  from  it  a  number 
of  little  garments  cut  out,  but  not  made,  which 
she  laid  upon  the  table  before  her. 

"  I  have  six  skirts  and  six  aprons  here,"  she 
said,  "  and  three  calico  bags,  which  our  little 
orphans  must  have  to  hold  their  lesson-books. 


Promising.  91 

I  think  we  had  better  give  the  bags  to  those 
who  are  the  youngest,  or  the  least  accustomed 
to  sewing,  —  Bessie,  Belle,  and  Mabel.  Then 
the  rest  may  choose,  so  far  as  you  can,  whether 
you  will  take  a  petticoat  or  an  apron  ;  but  as 
there  is  more  work  upon  the  petticoats  than 
upon  the  aprons,  1  shall  think  it  wiser  for 
those  who  are  not  very  industrious  and  per- 
severing to  take  the  latter,  so  that  they  may 
be  sure  to  finish  their  work.  Or  perhaps 
the  older  ones,  Nellie,  Maggie,  Grace,  and 
Dora,  might  take  the  skirts,  and  let  the  other 
five  take  aprons.  As  I  said  yesterday,  the 
young  ladies  in  the  other  room  will  finish 
whatever  you  leave." 

All  were  satisfied  with  this  arrangement  but 
two. 

"  Miss  Ashton,"  said  Nellie  Ransom,  in 
rather  a  hesitating  voice,  as  though  she  thought 
she  might  be  drawing  upon  herself  the  dis- 
approval of  her  classmates,  —  "  Miss  Ashton, 
I  think  perhaps  I  had  better  only  take  an  apron. 
I  do  not  sew  very  fast,  and  I  might  not  have  a 


92  Lily  Norris*  Enemy, 

skirt  done  in  time ;  and  I  would  rather  take 
the  apron,  so  that  I  may  be  sure  to  finish 
it." 

"  Pooh !  "  said  Lily,  "  I  should  think  any 
one  might  have  a  petticoat  done  in  two  weeks ! 
No,  not  pooh,  either,  Nellie,  I  forgot  that  was 
not  courteous  ;  but  then  I  should  think  you'd 
have  plenty  of  time  to  make  the  skirt,  and  I'm 
going  to  take  one  'stead  of  the  apron,  if  Miss 
Ashton  will  let  me." 

"  I  will  let  you,"  said  her  teacher.  "  I  told 
you  you  should  take  what  you  pleased  ;  but, 
Lily,  I  think  Nellie  is  a  wise  little  girl  not  to 
undertake  more  than  she  feels  sure  she  can  do, 
and  you  would  do  well  to  follow  her  example. 
You  do  not  like  steady  work,  you  know,  Lily, 
and  I  should  not  wish  the  petticoat  to  be 
brought  back  to  me  half  finished." 

"  Oh,  I'd  never  do  that !  "  exclaimed  Lily. 
"  I  see,  Miss  Ashton,  you  think  it  prohalal 
that  Nellie  and  I  will  be  the  hare  and  the 
tortoise,  —  Nellie  the  tortoise  and  I  the  hare  ; 
but  we'll  be  two  tortoises,  won't  we,  Nellie  ? 


Promising:  93 

And  please  let  me  have  the  petticoat,  Miss  Ash- 
ton.     I'll  be  sure,  oh,  sure  to  have  it  finished  !  " 

Miss  Ashton  did  as  she  was  asked,  and 
handed  Lily  the  skirt ;  but  she  looked  as  if  she 
were  not  quite  so  sure  that  Lily  would  per- 
form all  she  promised ;  and  though  she  smiled 
as  she  gave  the  parcel  to  the  little  girl,  she 
shook  her  head  doubtfully,  and  said, — 

"  Be  careful,  Lily,  and  do  not  put  off  till  to 
morrow  the  task  you  should  do  to-day." 

"  No,  ma'am, "  answered  Lily,  confidently, 
"  1  am  quite  cured  of  that.  I  wish  you'd  let 
me  have  two  just  to  see  how  soon  I  will  have 
them  finished." 

"  If  you  finish  the  petticoat  at  the  end  of 
ten  days,  you  shall  have  some  other  thing  to 
make,"  said  Miss  Ashton,  rather  gravely. 
"  Nellie,  my  dear,  here  is  your  apron." 

The  work  was  very  neatly  cut  out  and 
basted ;  prepared  so  that  the  little  girls 
might  not  find  it  difficult  to  do,  or  give  more 
trouble  than  was  actually  necessary  to  their 
friends  at  home ;    and  each   one  opened   her 


94  Lily  JVorrisJ  Enemy, 

parcel  and  examined  it  with  great  satisfaction 
after  they  were  dismissed. 

"  I  expect  Nellie's  will  be  sewed  the  best, 
'cause  she  takes  so  much  pains  with  every 
thing  she  does,"  said  Bessie.  "  Hers  and 
Dora's  will  be,  for  Dora  is  industrious  too, 
and  has  a  great  deal  of  perseverance." 

"  I  think  mine  will  be  the  best,"  said  Gra- 
de, "  for  I  sew  very  nicely.  Mrs.  Bradish 
told  mamma  she  never  saw  a  child  of  my  age 
sew  so  neatly." 

"  Proudy  !  "  said  Lily,  "  you  always  think 
you  do  every  thing  better  than  anybody  else ; 
and  you  always  go  and  tell  when  any  one  makes 
you  a  compliment.  Gracie,  you  do  grow  con- 
ceiteder  and  conceiteder  every  day.  Pretty 
soon,  we  won't  be  able  to  stand  you  at  all." 

"  Why,  Lily !  "  said  Belle,  "  you're  a  dread- 
ful anti-politer  this  morning." 

"  I  don't  care,"  said  Lily ;  "  Gracie  dees 
make  me  so  mad.  Yes,  I  do  care  about  being 
called  an  anti-politer  too,"  she  added  on  sec- 
ond thoughts ;   "  but,  Gracie,  1  don't  believe 


Promising.  95 

your  work  will  be  the  best.  I  think  like  Bes- 
sie, that  Nellie's  will  be,  'cause  she  sews  so 
nicely ;   and  so  does  Maggie." 

"  Anyhow  mine  will  be  done,  and  yours 
won't,  I  know,"  retorted  Gracie,  who  always  re- 
sented very  strongly  the  idea  that  any  other  child 
could  do  as  well  or  better  than  herself.  "  You 
always  put  off  and  procrastinate,  so  that  you 
never  have  any  thing  ready  at  the  right  time." 

"  Well,  I'm  not  going  to  do  so  any  more," 
said  Lily;  "  and,  anyhow,  I'd  rather  be  Fro 
than  Proudy.  It's  very,  very  naughty  to  be 
proud,  and  it's  only  a  —  a  —  well,  an  incon- 
venient habit  to  procrastinate.  And  I'm  pretty 
well  cured  of  it  now.  Don't  you  be  afraid  my 
petticoat  won't  be  done ;  and  don't  let's  be 
cross  about  it  any  more,  Gracie." 

Peace  was  restored  by  her  last  words ;  but 
here  were  Lily's  snares  and  stumbling-blocks. 
Firstly,  that  she  had  too  much  confidence  in 
her  own  strength,  and  was  too  sure  that  she 
could  cure  herself  of  this  troublesome  habit  if 
she  only  chose  to  do  so ;  secondly,  that  she 


96  Lily  JVorn's1  Enemy, 

hardly  looked  upon  it  as  a  fault  at  all,  and  did 
not  think  it  of  much  consequence,  except  just 
at  the  moment  when  it  had  brought  some  great 
annoyance  upon  herself  or  others. 

Lily  was  gay,  light-hearted,  and  sweet-tem- 
pered, and  trouble  or  disappointment  seldom 
oppressed  her  spirits  long, —  all  good  things 
and  great  blessings  in  their  proper  times  and 
places ;  but  she  sometimes  let  this  run  into 
carelessness,  and  was  often  disposed  to  make  too 
Light  of  her  faults  and  their  consequences.  She 
certainly  had  warning  and  help  enough  in  this 
case,  if  that  were  all  she  needed. 

She,  Maggie  and  Bessie,  Belle  and  Mabel 
all  took  the  same  way  homeward  ;  and  just 
before   they  parted,  Maggie  said,  — 

"  I  have  an  idea !  Would  it  not  be  a 
good  plan  for  us  five  to  have  a  little  sewing 
meeting  at  our  house  for  these  clothes,  if 
mamma  has  no  objections  ?  And  it  will  seem 
to  help  us  along,  and  not  let  it  be  so  stupid  ;  for 
I  do  hate  to  sew." 

The  other  children  agreed  that  it  would  be  a 


Promising.  97 

capital  arrangement ;  and  Maggie,  turning  to 
Bessie,  asked  if  she  thought  mamma  would  be 
willing. 

"  For  we  better  not  make  too  many  plans 
about  it  till  we  know  what  mamma  would  say," 
said  Maggie,  "or  we  might  '  live  in  hope 
only  to  die  in  despair.'  " 

Bessie  thought  mamma  would  be  quite  will- 
ing, but  agreed  with  Maggie  that  it  would  be 
better  not  to  build  up  too  many  arrangements 
on  this  till  they  knew  what  she  had  to  say. 

"  I  would  like  to  have  asked  all  the  class," 
said  Maggie,  "  but  I  do  not  think  mamma 
wants  a  great  many  children  about  now ; 
because  grandmamma's  house  is  being  painted, 
and  she  and  Aunt  Annie  and  Uncle  Ruthven 
and  Aunt  Bessie  are  all  staying  with  us,  and  it 
makes  a  pretty  large  family,  —  a  lovely  large 
one,"  she  added,  with  a  nod  of  satisfaction  in 
the  present  size  of  the  household. 

"  We'll  ask  mamma  if  we  can  have  a 
meeting  once  a  week  till  our  things  are  all 
finished,"  said  Bessie ;  "  and  we  can  sew  on 
7 


98  Lily  Norrii  Enemy, 

them  between  times,  and  show  each  other  how 
much  we  have  done.  And  it  may  be  a  little 
help  to  you  in  not  putting  off,  Lily,"  she  said, 
rather  anxiously.  "  I  would  be  so  sorry  if 
your  petticoat  was  not  finished." 

"  Ohv  never  fear,"  said  Lily  ;  "  you  are  all  so 
afraid  about  me  ;  and  I  tell  you,  I'm  not  going 
to  put  off  any  more." 

"  I  am  sorry,  my  daughter,  that  you  took 
the  petticoat  instead  of  the  apron,"  said  Mrs. 
Norris,  when  Lily  reached  home  and  told  her 
story  of  the  morning's  business.  "  There 
would  have  been  more  hope  of  your  finishing 
the  apron,  with  your  unsteady  ways  about 
work  and  duties." 

"  It  is  not  a  duty  for  me  to  make  this,  is  it, 
mamma  ?  "  asked  Lily,  unrolling  the  parcel 
and  holding  up  the  skirt. 

"  Yes,  it  is  a  duty  for  you  to  do  that  which 
you  have  promised  to  do,  is  it  not  ?" 

"  Yes,  mamma  ;  but  I  need  not  have  prom- 
ised if  I  did  not  choose." 

"  No,  you  need  not ;  but  now  that  you  have 


Promising.  99 

undertaken  it  of  your  own  free  will,  that  makes 
it  all  the  more  a  duty  for  you  to  finish  it  in 
time.  Will  you  sew  on  it  a  little  while  this 
afternoon,  after  you  have  had  your  lunch  ?  " 

"  No,  mamma,  I  think  not,"  said  Lily. 
"  Maggie  and  Bessie  are  going  to  ask  their 
mamma  if  they  can  have  us  for  a  sewing 
meeting  at  their  house,  and  I'll  wait  and  see 
what  they  say.     It  will  be  fun." 

Mrs.  Norris  sighed  as  Lily  gleefully  rolled 
up  her  work  and  tossed  it  upon  the  table. 
This  was  not  a  very  good  beginning. 

"  Put  it  away  in  the  large  work-box,  dear," 
she  said. 

"  Presently,  mamma ;  I'm  just  going  to  tell 
Nora  about  it." 

"  No,  Lily,  put  it  away  at  once.  And 
remember,  my  darling,  that  I  shall  not  allow 
Nora  to  finish  it  for  you  if  you  fall  behind- 
hand through  your  own  fault." 

"  Oh,  no,  mamma,"  said  Lily,  as  she  obeyed 
her  mother's  order  ;  "  but  I  would  have  put  it 
away  in  a  minute  or  two." 


£?/s?m. 


VI. 


BUT  NOT  PERFORMING. 


OU  will  readily  believe  that  Lily's  "  by 
and  by  "  was  long  in  coming,  as  it 
had  often  been  before  ;  and  this  al- 
though her  mamma  and  nurse  both  invited 
her  more  than  once  to  come  and  begin  her 
petticoat. 

The  evening  brought  a  note  from    Maggie 
Bradford,  which  was  as  follows :  — 


"Dear  Lily, — Mamma  says  we  may  have 
the  sewing  meeting,  and  Aunt  Annie  says  she 
will  take  care  of  it  up  in  her  room,  which  is 
very  kind  of  her  ;  do  you  not  think  so  ?  When 
Baby  Annie  heard  us  talking  about  it,  she  said, 


But  not  Performing,  101 

"  Me  too  ;  "  and  we  told  her  she  should  come 
if  she  would  be  good.  Mamma  says  she  is 
afraid  she  will  be  a  disturbance,  but  she  is  so 
cunning  that  Bessie  and  1  could  not  bear  to 
tell  her  no  ;  and  we  will  be  very  industrious, 
even  if  baby  is  funny.  We  make  you  a  life- 
member  of  our  society  for  two  weeks,  till  we 
have  the  clothes  all  finished  ;  and  we  will  have 
a  meeting  every  Thursday  afternoon.  Come 
at  three  o'clock ;  and  Aunt  Annie  will  tell  us 
stories  or  read  to  us  till  four,  while  we  sew, 
and  then  we  will  put  away  our  work  and 
play. 

"  Yours  respectfully  and  affectionately, 
"  Maggie  Stanton  Bradford. 

"  P.  S.  Bessie  says  of  course  you'd  never 
think  of  such  a  thing  as  bringing  '  Pro '  to 
the  meeting.  We  wouldn't  believe  it  of  you ; 
but  if  you  did,  we  should  '  speed  the  parting 
guest,'  which  means  to  turn  him  out  as  quick 
as  you  can." 

"  Maggie  knows  so  many  proverbs  and  wise 


102  Lily  Norris^  Enemy. 

speeches,  and  always  knows  how  to  make  a 
good  use  of  them,"  said  Lily,  when  Tom 
finished  reading  this  epistle  to  her,  she  having 
been  in  too  much  haste  to  try  to  spell  it  out 
for  herself.  "  Now,  Tom,  what  are  you  laugh- 
ing at  ?  " 

"  Why,  I'm  sure  that  is  a  good  joke  of 
Maggie's,  and  well  worth  being  amused  at," 
said  Tom. 

" Oh,  yes,"  said  Lily,  "she  is  very  smart, 
and  very  funny  too.  I'm  so  glad  we  are  going 
to  have  the  sewing  meeting;  and,  indeed,  I 
don't  take  '  Pro '  with  me." 

"  I  am  afraid  he  has  paid  us  a  visit  this 
afternoon,  Lily,"-  said  Mrs.  Norris. 

"Why,  no,  dear  mamma;  at  least,  I  only 
thought  I  would  wait  till  I  heard  what  we  were 
going  to  do  at  the  meeting,  and  not  begin  before 
them.     It  is  nicer  to  begin  all  together." 

"  And  I  think  you  will  find  that  all  the  other 
children  have  commenced  their  work  to-day," 
said  Mrs.  Norris.     "  But  we  shall  see." 

Lily's  mainma  was  nearly  as  well  pleased  as 


But  not  Performing.  103 

her  little  daughter  at  the  arrangement  she  had 
made  with  the  Bradford  children,  for  she  hoped 
that  their  example,  and  the  wish  to  keep  pace 
with  them,  might  help  Lily  to  conquer  her 
besetting  fault  in  this  instance  at  least ;  and 
that  shame  might  keep  her  from  falling  behind- 
hand with  her  work  from  week  to  week. 

The  sewing  meeting  being  a  novelty,  and 
Lily  very  anxious  to  "  see  what  it  would  be 
like,"  she  was  willing  to  be  made  ready  in  good 
time  the  next  day  ;  and  actually  arrived  at  the 
Bradfords'  house  eight  minutes  before  three 
o'clock,  which  she,  as  well  as  the  other  chil- 
dren, took  to  be  a  decided  sign  of  improvement 
in  the  punctuality  line. 

Belle  was  there,  but  not  Mabel,  for  the  latter 
had  taken  a  very  bad  cold,  and  could  not  come 
out. 

The  little  girls  were  soon  all  settled  in  Aunt 
Annie's  room,  each  with  her  work ;  but  Lily 
was  rather  dismayed,  and  quite  ashamed,  to 
find  her  mother's  words  proved  true,  and  that 
each  one  of  the  other  three  children  had  not 


104  Lily  JVorrt's'  Enemy, 

only  commenced  her  work,  but  had  completed 
quite  a  good  piece  upon  it.  Why,  there  was  a 
whole  seam  and  part  of  another  done  upon 
Maggie's  petticoat;  and  she  had  not  yet  set 
the  first  stitch  in  hers! 

"  Why !  haven't  you  done  any  on  yours 
yet?"  asked  Bessie,  in  amazement.  "Why 
didn't  you  begin  it,  Lily  ?  " 

"I  thought  to-day  would  be  time  enough," 
said  Lily,  rather  sheepishly.  "  I'm  sorry  now 
I  didn't  begin  it." 

"  But  it's  too  late  to  be  sorry  now,"  said 
Bessie,  gravely  shaking  her  head.  "  Procras- 
tination has  been  robbing  Time  again,  Lily." 

"  Never  mind,  I'll  sew  very  fast  to-day," 
was  Lily's  answer. 

As  soon  as  she  had  the  little  girls  all  busy 
at  1heir  work,  Aunt  Annie  took  up  a  book,  and 
prepared  to  read  a  story  to  them. 

But  scarcely  had  she  commenced  when  the 
door,  which  stood  ajar,  was  pushed  open  ;  and 
"  Tootins  "  walked  in,  with  an  air  which  seemed 
to  say  she  was  quite  sure  of  her  welcome. 


But  not  Performing.  105 

And  who  was  "  Tootins  "  ?  you  will  say.  A 
kitten  ? 

Well,  I  believe  she  was  a  kind  of  two-footed 
kitten ;  at  least,  she  was  as  full  of  play  and 
frolic  and  merry  ways  as  any  four-footed  little 
puss  that  ever  called  old  cat  mother.  As  fond 
of  being  cuddled  and  petted  now  and  then,  too. 

"  Tootins "  was  the  dearest,  cunningest, 
most  fascinating  little  two-year-old  bit  of 
mischief  that  ever  found  out  she  had  ten 
fingers,  and  the  number  of  uses  they  could 
be  put  to. 

A  mischief !  I  should  think  she  was  !  Such 
restless,  busy  little  fingers  !  "  Mademoiselle 
Touche-a-tout"  Uncle  Buthven  named  her. 
Such  an  inquisitive  little  mind  I  Such  never- 
tiring,  pattering  little  feet !  Such  a  sweet  voice, 
and  such  a  crooked,  cunning  tongue ! 

When  you  saw  her,  you  wanted  to  catch  her 
up,  and  pet  and  hug  her,  she  was  so  fair  and 
round  and  dimpled  ;  but  that  did  not  always 
suit  Miss  "  Tootins."  She  thought  her  two 
small  feet  were  made  to  be  used,  and  she  did 


106  Lily  Nor r is*  Enemy. 

not  choose  that  they  should  be  deprived  of  any 
of  their  privileges,  except  by  her  own  free  will. 
So  she  generally  struggled  to  be  put  down 
again ;  and,  dear  me !  how  sorry  you  were  to 
let  her  go ! 

But  sometimes,  as  I  have  said,  she  wanted 
to  be  cuddled  and  petted  ;  and  then  she  would 
nestle  to  you,  so  dear  and  sweet,  with  her 
sunny  head  upon  your  arm,  her  great  starry 
eyes  fastened  upon  your  face,  while  you  talked 
baby-talk  to  her,  or  told  her  simple  verses  and 
stories.  Understand  you,  do  you  ask  ?  In- 
deed, she  understood  every  thing  you  said; 
more  than  you  could  have  believed  possible. 

Pure  pink  and  white  skin;  eyes  blue  as 
heaven  ;  golden  hair  ;  yes,  real  golden  hair,  for 
when  the  sunlight  fell  upon  her  curls,  they 
looked  like  threads  of  burning  gold ;  shouldei  s 
and  hands  and  arms  that  looked  as  if  they 
were  only  made  to  be  kissed ;  a  gurgling, 
rippling  laugh  ;  and  oh,  such  cunning,  wheed- 
ling ways  !  That  is  our  "Tootins;"  other- 
wise, Baby  ,lnnie.     Our  "  Tootins,"  did  I  say  ? 


But  not  Performing,  107 

"Well,  I  suppose  I  must  call  her  Mrs.  Bradford's 
"  Tootins ;  "  but  then,  you  see,  I  have  drawn 
her  picture  from  life,  and,  having  before  my 
eyes  just  such  a  pet  and  darling  of  my  own,  it 
came  very  natural  to  say  "  our  Tootins." 

But  how  did  she  come  by  such  a  funny 
name?  you  will  ask  again. 

Well,  that  was  a  name  her  little  brother 
Frankie  had  given  her  when  she  was  a  tiny 
baby ;  no  one  knew  why  he  did  it,  but  he  did, 
and  he  always  called  her  by  it ;  and  of  late, 
if  any  one  called  her  by  any  other  name,  he 
always  pretended  he  did  not  know  of  whom 
they  spoke.  And  so  "Tootins"  had  come  to 
be  a  sort  of  twin  pet  name  with  "  Baby,"  and 
little  Annie  was  called  as  much  by  one  as  by 
the  other. 

As  I  have  said,  she  came  in  as  if  quite 
assured  of  her  welcome,  for  Baby  Annie  was 
accustomed  to  have  her  society  courted,  and 
rather  imagined  she  was  conferring  a  favor 
when  she  bestowed  it  upon  her  friends.  More- 
over, she  had  been  promised  that  she  should 


108  Lily  Nor r is1  Enemy, 

join  the  others  on  this  occasion,  why  or  with 
what  purpose  she  did  not  understand ;  but  she 
knew  that  her  sisters  had  talked  of  Belle  and 
Lily  coming.  She  was  fond  of  Belle  and  Lily, 
and  had  demanded  a  share  in  their  company, 
and  here  they  were  now.  This  she  knew  very 
well,  and  so  she  came  in,  followed  by  old 
nurse,  who  had  her  own  doubts  as  to  whether 
baby  would  be  considered  a  serviceable  member 
of  the  sewing  circle. 

But  "  Tootins'  "  expectations  proved  well- 
founded,  for  she  was  greeted  with  exclama- 
tions of  pleasure  ;  and  after  submitting  to  the 
necessary  amount  of  hugging  and  kissing,  she 
was  accommodated  with  a  bench  at  Aunt 
Annie's  feet,  and  mammy  told  that  she  might 
leave  her. 

But  was  it  really  possible  that  any  one 
thought  baby  was  going  to  sit  still  on  that 
footstool  ?  If  so,  she  soon  undeceived  them  ; 
and  the  busy  little  fingers  were,  as  usual, 
searching  about  for  what  mischief  they  could 
find  to  do. 


But  not  Performing.  109 

First,  she  overturned  Maggie's  workbox, 
and  having  contrived,  during  the  picking  up 
of  the  contents,  secretly  to  possess  herself  of 
the  eyelet-piercer,  was  presently  discovered 
boring  holes  in  her  own  tiny  shoe.  The  nexf 
thing  which  took  her  fancy  was  a  small  vase 
of  flowers,  which  being  within  her  reach  was 
dragged  over,  the  water  spilled  upon  the  floor 
and  the  flowers  scattered,  before  Aunt  Annie 
could  prevent  it.  Happily,  the  vase  was  not 
broken,  for  which  Miss  Baby  took  great  credit 
to  herself,  declaring  over  and  over  again  that 
she  was  "  dood," — little  Pharisee  that  she  was. 

By  the  time  that  this  disturbance  was  over, 
order  restored,  and  the  members  of  the  sewing 
society  settled  once  more  in  their  places,  baby 
had  retired  into  privacy  behind  the  window 
curtain ;  and,  being  suspiciously  quiet,  Aunt 
Annie  thought  proper  to  inquire  into  her 
occupation,  when  she  was  discovered  indus- 
triously taking  pins  from  a  pin-cushion,  and 
sticking  them  into  the  carpet. 

"Oh,  what   a   mischievous,   naughty   little 


no  Lily  JVornV  Enemy, 

girl ! "  said  Aunt  Annie.  "  Shall  I  call  mammy 
to  take  you  away  ?  " 

"  No,  'deed,  Nan,"  was  the  answer ;  "  Nan  * 
being  baby's  name  for  Aunt  Annie. 

"  Will  you  be  good  and  quiet  then  ?  " 

"'Es'deed,"  said  baby,  resigning  the  pin- 
cushion into  Aunt  Annie's  hands,  and  trotting 
off  in  search  of  fresh  pastures. 

A  large  trunk  was  in  the  room,  the  lid 
standing  open ;  and  Miss  Stanton  had  already 
called  baby  three  or  four  times  from  its  dan- 
gerous neighborhood.  But  the  straps  which 
kept  the  lid  from  falling  back  seemed  to  have 
a  peculiar  attraction  for  the  little  one ;  and 
once  more  she  went  over  to  the  corner  where 
it  was  placed,  and,  taking  hold  of  one  of  these 
straps,  would  in  another  moment  have  crushed 
both  tiny  hands  by  pulling  the  whole  weight  of 
the  lid  upon  them,  had  not  Maggie  sprung  up 
and  caught  it  just  in  time. 

"  You  had  better  call  nurse  to  take  her 
away,  Maggie  ;  she  is  too  troublesome,  and  we 
shall  accomplish  nothing  while  she  is  here,' 


Lily  Norris. 


p.  110. 


But  not  Performing,  ill 

said  her  aunt,  now  really  vexed.  But  when 
she  heard  this,  Baby  Annie  put  up  such  a 
grieved  lip  and  looked  so  piteous  that  the 
other  children  all  pleaded  for  her ;  and  Miss 
Stanton  said  she  would  try  her  once  more. 

"  Shall  Aunt  Annie  tell  you  a  pretty  story  ?  " 
she  asked,  seating  the  little  mischief  in  the 
corner  of  the  sofa,  where  she  would  be  out  of 
harm's  way  so  long  as  she  could  be  persuaded 
to  remain  there. 

Baby  assented  eagerly,  for  she  always  liked 
a  story  ;  and  Aunt  Annie  began,  the  little  one 
listening  intently,  with  hands  quietly  folded  in 
her  lap,  and  her  great  blue  eyes  fixed  on  her 
aunt's  face. 

"  Once  there  was  a  little  girl,  and  she  was  a 
very  good  little  girl,  and  always  did  as  she  was 
told.  When  her  auntie  said,  'You  must  be 
still,'  she  was  as  quiet  as  a  little  mouse,  and 
made  no  noise.  When  her  mamma  said, 
;  Come  here,'  she  always  came  ;  and  when  her 
nursey  said,  '  Do  not  touch  that  thing,'  she 
never  touched  it.      She  did  not  take  the  pins, 


112  Lily  JVorrzY  Enemy, 

because  she  knew  it  was  naughty,  and  that 
mamma  would  say,  'No,  no ; '  and  she  did 
not  pull  at  the  flowers,  because  she  knew  her 
auntie  would  say,  '  Let  them  alone  ; '  and  she 
did  not  touch  Maggie's  workbox,  because  she 
knew  she  was  not  to  have  it.  And  oh,  dear 
me  !  why,  she  never  would  do  such  a  naughty 
thing  as  to  touch  the  trunk,  because  she  knew 
it  would  hurt  her  little  fingers,  oh,  so  badly ! 
and  then  she  would  have  to  cry.  So  every  one 
loved  this  baby,  and  said,  '  What  a  good  little 
girl !  Come  here,  good  little  girl ; '  and  gave 
her  pretty  flowers  of  her  own,  and  let  her  stay 
in  the  room,  and  did  not  send  her  away  to  the 
nursery." 

Here  Aunt  Annie  paused,  to  see  what  effect 
her  moral  tale  was  making  on  the  small 
listener  for  whose  benefit  it  was  intended. 
Baby  was  intensely  interested,  and  when  Aunt 
Annie  ceased  speaking,  gravely  ejaculated  the 
one  syllable,  "  More." 

The  other  children,  who  thought  this  ex- 
tremely funny,  were  trying  to  hide  their  smiles 


But  not  Performing.  113 

that  tliey  might  not  spoil  the  lesson  the  story 
was  intended  to  convey. 

"  Then  there  was  another  little  girl,"  con- 
tinued Aunt  Annie,  "  such  a  naughty  little  girl, 
who  would  not  mind  what  was  said  to  her. 
When  her  mamma  said,  *  Don't  go  to  the  head 
of  the  stairs  when  the  gate  is  open,'  she  would 
not  mind,  but  she  did  go ;  and  she  fell  down 
stairs,  and  bumped  her  poor  little  head.  And 
she  took  the  piercer,  and  made  holes  in  her 
new  shoes ;  and  mamma  said,  '  Oh,  the 
naughty  baby!  She  must  sit  on  the  bed 
with  no  shoes  on  because  she  did  such  a  bad 
thing.'  And  she  took  the  scissors  and  cut  her 
little  fingers,  and  they  hurt  her  so  badly,  and 
bled.  And  the  pins  too,  and  she  put  them  in 
the  carpet  where  they  pricked  grandmamma's 
feet ;  and  grandmamma  said,  '  That  naughty, 
naughty  baby ! '  And  what  do  you  think  hap- 
pened to  her  one  day  ?  She  would  touch  the 
trunk  when  her  auntie  said,  '  Come  away ; ' 
and  the  lid  fell  down,  and  cut  off  all  the  poor 
little  fingers,  and  the  little  girl  had  no  more 
8 


114  -L*fy  Norris'  Enemy. 

fingers  to  play  with,  or  to  love  mamma  with, 
or  to  look  at  the  pretty  picture-books  with. 
Oh,  poor  little  girl !  that  was  because  she 
would  not  be  good." 

Nothing  could  outdo  the  intense  gravity  of 
the  little  one's  face  and  demeanor  as  she 
listened  to  this  thrilling  tale,  and  drank  in 
each  word.  It  was  certainly  making  a  great 
impression,  Aunt  Annie  thought. 

"  Now,"  she  said,  thinking  to  strength- 
en and  give  point  to  this,  "who  was  the 
good  little  girl  who  always  did  as  she  was 
told?" 

"  Tootins,"  said  the  baby,  with  an  air  of 
supreme  self-satisfaction,  and  conscious  virtue, 
which  set  all  the  other  children  giggling. 

"  And  who,"  asked  Aunt  Annie,  trying  to 
command  her  own  face,  as  she  put  the  second 
question,  "  was  the  naughty  little  girl  who 
did  all  those  bad  things,  and  was  so  much 
hurt  ? " 

"  Na-a-an !  "  shouted  baby,  changing  her  air 
of  delighted  self-approbation  to  one   of  stern 


But  not  Performing.  115 

reproof  and  bitter  indignation  against  her 
would-be  teacher.     . 

To  describe  the  peals  of  gleeful  laughter 
which  followed  this  sudden  turning  of  the 
tables  would  be  impossible.  Roguish  Lily 
went  capering  and  whirling  about  the  room 
in  an  ecstasy  of  fun  and  enjoyment  at  this 
capital  hit ;  and  all  thought  it  the  most  excel- 
lent joke  they  had  heard  this  long  time.  It 
would  have  been  impossible  to  help  joining  in 
their  merry  peals  of  laughter,  even  had  not 
Aunt  Annie  herself  been  heartily  amused  at 
the  little  rogue's  cuteness  ;  and  baby,  finding 
she  had  said  a  good  thing,  joined  her  own 
rippling  laugh  to  the  general  merriment,  to 
which  she  further  added  by  now  saying,  "  Oh, 
dear !    me  so  funny." 

The  laughter  and  merry  voices  brought 
mamma  to  see  what  the  great  joke  could  be  ; 
and  Miss  Baby  now  thought  proper  to  deprive 
them  of  her  society,  slipping  down  from  her 
nest  on  the  sofa,  and  running  to  her  mother 
with,  — 


Ii6  Lily  Nor r if  Enemy. 

"  Me  better  do  wis  my  mamma. 

"  Tootins "  always  considered  she  had 
"better"  do  whatever  she  wished  to  do. 

And  now  perhaps  you  will  say,  What  has  all 
this  long  story  about  "  Tootins  "  to  do  with  Lily 
and  procrastination  ? 

Why,  just  this ;  that  from  the  moment  the 
baby  had  entered  the  room,  Lily's  attention 
had  been  entirely  diverted  from  her  sewing. 
In  vain  did  that  faithful  little  monitor,  Bessie, 
endeavor  by  hints  and  signs,  and  softly  whis- 
pered words,  to  persuade  her  to  keep  on  with 
the  work  already  so  far  behindhand.  For  to  all 
her  entreaties,  Lily  only  answered,  "  There's 
time  enough,"  or,  "  I'm  going  to  do  it  in  a 
minute,"  and  so  forth  ;  while  she  watched  the 
baby,  and  was  rather  disposed  to  encourage 
her  in  her  mischief.  And  when  Miss  Stanton 
put  little  Annie  up  on  the  sofa,  and  began  to 
tell  her  the  story,  Lily  dropped  her  sewing 
upon  the  floor,  and,  leaving  her  seat,  hung  over 
the  arm  of  the  couch,  listening  and  idling 
away   her   time.      The   other    children   were 


But  not  Performing.  117 

amused,  too,  at  Annie's  pranks,  especially  at 
this  last  one,  but  they  kept  on  sewing  indus- 
triously ;  even  little  Belle,  who  was  unac- 
customed to  it,  laboriously  and  with  much 
painstaking,  setting  in  stitch  after  stitch. 

But  even  this  good  example  had  no  effect 
on  Lily;  and  seeing  this,  Aunt  Annie  was 
not  sorry  when  "  the  little  hindering  thing  " 
declared  she  had  "better  do  wis  "  her  mother. 
Mrs.  Bradford  thought  so  too ;  and  carried 
away  the  cunning  but  provoking  monkey. 

"  0  Lily  !  "  said  Maggie,  reproachfully,  "  1 
thought  you  were  not  going  to  bring  Pro  with 
you." 

"  Well,  I  didn't,"  said  Lily.  "  I'm  sure  I've 
been  sewing  ;  at  least,  I've  sewed  some  ;  and 
I  was  just  looking  at  Annie  for  a  moment." 

"  For  a  good  many  moments,  Lily,"  said 
Miss  Stanton  ;  "  and  even  when  you  had  your 
work  in  your  hand,  you  put  in  the  stitches 
very  slowly  and  carelessly.  See  there,  Lily," 
taking  up  the  end  of  the  seam  on  which  Lily 
W4S  now  working  in  great  haste,  in  order  to 


n8  Lily  JVorrzY  Enemy. 

make  up  for  lost  time,  "  what  long,  uneven 
stitches,  my  dear  child." 

"  Oh,  they'll  do,  Miss  Annie,"  said  Lily. 
u  I'll  do  the  resi  better ;  but  I  must  have  this 
seam  done  to-day." 

Miss  Stanton  looked  grave,  and  shook  her 
head,  and  it  was  not  a  usual  thing  for  gay, 
merry  Annie  Stanton  to  look  serious ;  and 
Lily  saw  that  she,  like  other  people,  did  not 
think  so  lightly  of  this  habit  which  she  con- 
sidered of  so  little  consequence. 

For,  as  you  will  have  perceived,  Lily  had 
already  forgotten  the  sad  lesson  she  had  re- 
ceived in  the  matter  of  the  silver  inkstand ; 
and  Maggie,  Bessie,  and  Belle  afterwards 
acknowledged  to  one  another  that  their  prov- 
erb picture  had  quite  failed  to  produce  the 
good  effect  they  had  hoped  for. 

"  Let's  keep  the  sewing  meeting  in  a  little 
longer,"  she  said,  when  the  hour  was  over, 
and  the  other  children  were  preparing  to  put 
by  their  work,  which  had  made  good  progress 
during  that  time. 


But  not  Performing.  119 

"  No,"  said  Miss  Annie,  "  an  hour's  steady 
work  is  enougli  for  any  little  girl,  and  the 
others  are  tired.  They  have  done  enough  for 
to-day." 

"  I  think  I'll  do  a  little  more,"  said  Lily, 
who  felt  ashamed  as  she  compared  her  own 
work  with  that  of  her  young  companions,  and 
saw  how  much  more  they  had  accomplished. 

"  As  you  please,"  said  Miss  Stanton ;  "  but 
I  cannot  attend  to  you  longer,  Lily.  I  am 
going  out  to  dinner,  and  must  dress  now.  1 
hope  you  will  do  better  before  next  Thurs- 
day." 

Lily  went  away  with  the  others,  intending 
to  sew  while  they  played,  at  least,  for  a  while  ; 
but,  as  you  may  believe,  when  she  saw  them  all 
engaged  with  their  dolls,  Procrastination  came 
and  put  her  virtuous  resolution  to  flight,  whis 
pering  that  she  could  make  up  for  lost  time 
to-morrow  ;  and,  as  usual,  he  had  his  way,  and 
the  petticoat  was  soon  altogether  forgotten. 


VII. 


WHAT  CAME  OF  THAT. 


ILY,  darling,"  said  Mrs.  Norris,  on 
Saturday  morning,  "  let  me  see 
how  the   little   orphan's   petticoat 


Lily  went,  rather  sheepishly  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, and  brought  the  skirt  to  her  mother. 

"Is  this  all  you  have  done?  —  this  little 
piece  of  a  seam  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Norris.  "  And 
so  badly  too.  Why,  my  child  !  what  have  you 
been  thinking  of?  You  can  sew  far  better 
than  this." 

Lily  fidgeted,  and  hung  her  head. 

"  Did  you  not  all  sew  yesterday,  when  you 


What  came  of  That.  121 

were  at  Mrs.  Bradford's  ?  "  asked  her  mamma, 
examining  the  work  still  more  closely. 

"  Yes,  mamma,"  murmured  Lily. 

"  And  did  you  not  say  Miss  Annie  showed 
you  how  it  was  to  be  done  ?  " 

"  Yes,  mamma." 

"  How  is  it,  then,  that  you  have  done  so  very 
little,  and  that  little  so  badly  ?  " 

"  Why,  you  see,  mamma,"  said  Lily,  hesitat- 
ingly, "  I  did  not  have  much  sewed,  only  a 
few  stitches,  and  I  wanted  to  catch  up  with 
the  others;  and  so — and  so  —  so  the  stitches 
wouldn't  come  very  nice." 

"  And  why  did  you  not  have  as  much  accom- 
plished as  the  other  children  ?  This  is  a  very 
poor  hour's  work,  dear." 

"  Yes,  mamma;  but  Baby  Annie  was  so  fun- 
ny, and  I  couldn't  help  looking  at  her,  and  I 
thought  I  would  have  time  enough.  It  was 
such  a  horridly  short  hour ;  it  was  gone  before 
I  had  time  to  do  much." 

"  Ah,  Lily,"  said  Mrs.  Norris,  "  it  is  the  same 
old  story,  I   fear.     Procrastination,  and  want 


122  Lily  JVorris9  Enemy, 

of  attention  to  the  duty  of  the  time,  and  per- 
haps a  little  idleness  and  heedlessness  added 
to  them.  These  last  two  are  great  helpers 
to  procrastination,  Lily ;  or  perhaps  I  should 
say,  procrastination  is  a  great  helper  to  the  sad 
fault  of  idleness.  It  is  so  very  easy,  when  we  do 
not  feel  industrious,  to  believe  that  another  time 
will  answer  as  well  for  the  duty  or  work  we 
should  do  now.  So  the  duty  is  put  off  ;  and  then, 
when  shame  or  need  calls  us  to  the  neglected 
task,  it  is  hurried  through  heedlessly,  and  it 
may  be  so  badly  that  it  is  quite  useless,  or  must 
be  done  over  again,  as  this  must,  my  child." 

"  Mamma !  "  exclaimed  Lily,  in  a  tone  in 
which  there  was  displeasure  as  well  as  dis- 
tress. 

"  Yes,  indeed,  my  daughter.  I  cannot  allow 
this  to  be  returned  to  Miss  Ashton  with  such 
work  upon  it.  You  are  but  a  little  girl,  and  no 
one  would  expect  to  see  such  neat  sewing  come 
from  your  hands  as  from  those  of  an  older  per- 
son ;  but  I  should  be  ashamed  to  have  it  thought 
that  my  Lily  cannot  do  better  than  this." 


What  came  of  That,  123 

"  Then  I'll  never  have  the  petticoat  done  at 
all,"  said  Lily,  her  eyes  filling  with  tears.  "  It 
is  'most  a  week  now  since  Miss  Ashton 
gave  them  to  us,  and  if  I  have  to  take  that  out 
it  will  be  all  to  do  from  the  beginning,  and 
Maggie  and  Bessie  and  Belle  have  ever  so 
much  done  on  theirs,  and  I  shan't  have  one 
stitch  done   on  mine." 

Mrs.  Norris  looked  grieved  at  the  rebellious 
tone. 

"  Whose  fault'is  it,  Lily  ?"  she  asked  sorrow- 
fully. 

Lily  hesitated  for  a  moment ;  then,  for  the 
first  time  in  her  life,  temper  had  the  better  of 
her  love  and  reverence  for  her  mother,  and  she 
answered  passionately,  — 

"  Yours,  if  you  make  me  pull  that  out !  " 

For  a  moment,  surprise  held  Mrs.  Norris 
silent  and  motionless.  Never  before  had  Lily 
spoken  so  to  her ;  never  before  had  she  been 
other  than  her  loving,  docile  little  child,  not 
always  strictly  obedient  it  might  be,  but  that 
was  not  so  much  from  wilfulness  as  from  that 


124  JLtfy  JVornY  Enemy, 

sad  habit  of  putting  off,  —  of  not  obeying  at 
once. 

Then  the  surprise  died  out,  and  left  only 
pain  and  grief;  and  while  Lily  was  wondering 
what  mamma  would  do,  could  do,  after  such  a 
dreadful  thing  as  that  (for  the  very  utterance 
of  the  words  had  sobered  her,  and  calmed  down 
her  temper),  Mrs.  Norris  rose,  and  laying  down 
the  skirt,  without  one  word,  without  one  look 
at  her  naughty  little  child,  slowly  and  sorrow- 
fully left  the  room. 

Lily  stood  still  one  moment,  herself  almost 
breathless  with  surprise  and  dismay  at  what 
she  had  done.  Had  she  really  said  such 
dreadful  words  to  mamma  ?  and  could  mamma 
ever,  ever  forgive  them  ?  Her  own  dear,  lov- 
ing, indulgent  mamma  to  hear  such  words  from 
the  lips  of  her  own,  only  little  daughter. 
What  would  papa  say,  what  would  Tom  say, 
when  they  should  know  it  ?  what  would  Mag- 
gie and  Bessie  say  ?  For  when  mamma  treated 
her  as  she  deserved  to  be  treated  from  this 
time  forth,  they  would  surely  know  that  some- 


What  came  of  That.  125 

thing  was  wrong,  and  must  learn  what  she  had 
done.  And,  oh  I  how  angry  God  must  be  with 
her  ! 

Some  little  boys  and  girls,  who  are  in  the 
habit  of  saying  unkind  and  disrespectful  things 
to  their  mothers,  —  and,  alas  !  there  are  too 
many  such,  —  may  wonder  at  our  Lily's  dis- 
tress and  remorse  ;  but  Lily  was  not  accus- 
tomed to  behave  in  this  way  to  her  mother  ;  as 
you  have  heard,  it  was  the  first  time  in  her  life 
that  she  had  done  so,  and  now  she  was  fairly 
frightened  when  she  remembered  how  she  had 
let  passion  master  her. 

And  what  had  brought  this   about  ? 

Lily  did  not  think  of  it  just  then,  in  all  the 
tumult  of  feeling  which  swelled  her  little 
heart  ;  but  had  it  not  all  arisen  from  the  sad 
habit  of  procrastination,  of  which  she  thought 
so  lightly  ? 

She  felt  as  if  she  dared  not  run  after 
her  mother,  and  ask  her  forgiveness.  True, 
mamma  always  was  ready  to  forgive  her  when 
she  was  penitent  after  any  naughtiness  ;  but 


126  Lily  JVorri's'  Enemy. 

then  —  oh !  she  had  never,  never  done  any 
thing  like  this  before — and  Lily  threw  her- 
self down  upon  the  rug  in  a  paroxysm  of  tears 
and  sobs. 

By  and  by  the  door  was  opened,  and 
Tom  came  in.  He  stood  still  for  a  mo- 
ment in  surprise  at  the  state  in  which  he 
found  his  little  sister,   then  came  forward. 

"  My  pet,  what  is  it  ?  What  is  the  matter  ?  " 
he  said,  stooping  over  her,  and  trying  to  raise 
her.  But  Lily  resisted  ;  and  so  Tom  sat  down 
on  the  floor  beside  her.  A  fresh  burst  of  sobs 
came  from  Lily. 

"  What  is  it,  dear  ?  "  asked  Tom  again. 
"  Shall  I  call  mamma? " 

"  Oh,  no,  no  !  "  sobbed  Lily.  "  She  wouldn't 
c-c-come  if  you  did.  She'll  never  want  to 
come  near  m-me  a-a-gain." 

"  Why  ?  What  is  wrong  ?  "  asked  Tom,  whose 
fears  that  Lily  was  ill  or  had  hurt  herself 
were  now  removed  ;  for  he  saw  that  it  was  not 
bodily  but  mental  trouble  which  ailed  her. 

"  Oh !  I've  done  the  most  horrid,  the  most 


What  came  of  That.  127 

dreadful  thing,  Tom,"  confessed  Lily,  still 
hardly  able  to  speak  for  the  fast-coming  tears 
and  sobs.  "  Oh  !  I  spoke  so  wickedly  to  mam- 
ma ;  to  my  own  dear,  precious,  darling  mamma. 
It  was  'most  worse  than  the  inkstand,  oh,  it  was, 
it  was  !    I'm  so  bad,  oh,  such  a  bad  child !  " 

"  Are  you  willing  to  tell  me  about  it  ? " 
asked  Tom,  soothingly. 

Lily  raised  her  head,  and  threw  it  upon  her 
brother's  knee,  allowing  him  to  wipe  away  her 
tears  ;  although,  as  she  told  her  story,  they 
flowed  as  fast  as  he  dried  them. 

"Lily,"  said  Tom,  hoping  that  this  might 
prove  a  good  lesson  to  her,  —  ah !  how  often 
had  Lily's  friends  vainly  hoped  that  the  trouble 
she  brought  upon  herself  might  prove  of  ser- 
vice to  her,  —  "  Lily,  how  was  it  that  your 
work  was  so  very  badly  done  ? " 

And  Lily  made  a  fresh  confession,  Tom 
gently  leading  her  back  to  what  he  truly 
suspected  to  be  the  first  cause  of  all  this 
difficulty. 

"  Lily,  dear,"  he  said,  "  I  am  sure  I  do  not 


128  Lily  Norris*  Enemy, 

want  to  seem  to  find  fault  with  you,  or  to 
reproach  you  when  you  are  feeling  so  badly ; 
but  I  would  like  you  to  see  how  all  this  has 
come  about.  You  think  it  such  a  small  fault, 
such  a  very  little  thing,  to  put  off  your  duties, 
and  even  your  pleasures,  if  it  happens  to  suit 
the  convenience  of  the  moment.  As  to  pleas- 
ures, I  suppose  that  does  not  matter  much,  so 
long  as  we  do  not  let  our  want  of  punctuality 
interfere  with  the  pleasure  of  others ;  but 
although  it  may  not  be  what  we  call  a  great 
sin  in  itself,  just  see  into  what  sin  and  sorrow 
procrastination  may  lead  us.  One  little  duty 
neglected  or  put  off  may  interfere  with 
another  ;  or,  as  you  have  done,  we  may  have 
to  hurry  through  with  it  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  leave  it  worse  than  if  we  had  not  tried  to 
do  it  at  all.  And  so  we  are  disappointed  and 
vexed,  and  perhaps  we  grow  cross  and  ill- 
tempered,  or  fly  into  a  passion,  and  do  some 
very  wrong  or  unkind  thing." 

"  Yes;  or  behave  worse  than  any  child  that 
ever  lived,   to   our    darling,   lovely,  precious 


What  came  of  That.  129 

mammas,  just   like  me,"    broke   forth    poor, 
penitent  Lily. 

"  Yes,"  said  Tom,  gravely,  but  kindly,  "  you 
see  to  what  it  has  led  you,  —  disrespect  and  im- 
pertinence to  dear  mamma.  Is  not  this  enough, 
Lil  darling,  to  show  you  how  much  pain  and 
trouble  may  come  from  this  habit,  and  why 
you  ought  to  try  to  break  yourself  of  it  ?  It 
is  not  only  the  inconvenience  which  must  come 
from  it,  but  the  wrong  which  may  grow  from  it, 
which  should  teach  us  to  try  and  keep  it  from 
gaining  a  hold  upon  us.     Do  you  see,  Lil  ?  " 

"  I  should  think  I  did,"  said  Lily,  dolefully, 
though  she  now  sat  upright,  but  with  a  most 
rueful  and  despairing  countenance.  "I  should 
think  it  had  made  me  bad  enough  to  see  what 
it  can  do.  But,  Tom,"  — with  an  admiring  look 
at  her  brother  from  the  midst  of  her  gloom 
and  distress,  —  "  but,  Tom,  what  a  wise  boy  you 
are  !  You  talk  as  if  you  were  grown  up  ;  quite 
as  if  you  were  a  minister  ;  only  I  understand 
all  you  say,  and  I  don't  understand  all  minis- 
ters say." 

9 


130  Lily  JVomV  Enemy. 

"No,  I  suppose  not,"  said  Tom,  speaking 
more  gayly ;  "  but  we  will  not  have  any  more 
preaching  just  now,  only  —  I  would  like  to 
tell  you  a  story,  Lily.     Shall  I  ? " 

"  Yes,  indeed,  please  do,"  answered  Lily, 
brightening  a  little  at  the  prospect. 

"  It  is  a  very  sad  story,  but  I  thought  it 
would  just  fit  here,"  said  her  brother. 

"  I'm  not  in  a  state  of  mind  for  a  pleasant 
story,"  said  Lily,  who  had  lately  fallen  into 
the  way  of  using  long  words,  and  "  grown-up  " 
phrases,  after  the  example  of  her  little  friends, 
Maggie  and  Bessie. 

"  No,  I  suppose  not,"  said  Tom,  suppressing 
all  inclination  to  smile.  "  Well,  you  know 
Will  Sturges,  Lily  ?  " 

"Oh,  yes,  that  very  sorry-looking  boy,  whose 
father  is  dead,  you  told  me,"  said  Lily.  "  Tom, 
it  always  makes  me  feel  sorry  to  see  him.  He 
hardly  ever  smiles,  or  looks  happy.  You 
know  mamma  told  you  to  ask  him  here  often, 
and  see  if  you  could  not  brighten  him  up ; 
but  he   don't   seem  to    brighten    up   at   all 


What  came  of  That.  131 

Bessie  said  he  looked  '  as  if  he  had  a  weight 
on  his  mind '  all  the  time." 

"  Ah  !  that  is  just  it,'1  said  Tom.  "  He  has 
a  terrible  weight  on  his  mind ;  a  grief  that  is 
there  night  and  day.  He  thinks  it  is  through  his 
fault  that  his  father  was  killed  ;  and  I  suppose 
that  it  is  so.  At  least  it  was  brought  about 
by  a  small  neglect  of  his,  —  procrastination,  or 
putting  off,  Lily." 

"  Did  he  ever  put  off?  "  asked  the  little  girl, 
opening  great  eyes  of  wonder.  "  Why,  he 
always  seems  so  very  punctual,  so  very  ready 
just  when  he  ought  to  be." 

"  Yes,"  said  Tom,  "  but  he  was  not  always 
so,  dear.  Never  was  a  more  unpunctual,  a 
more  dilatory  boy  than  Will  Sturges  used  to 
be.  Poor  dear  fellow !  he  has  learned  better 
by  such  a  sad  lesson.  I  hope  my  little  sister 
may  never  have  the  like." 

"  I'm  sure,"  said  Lily,  "  I  don't  know  who 
has  had  a  sad  lesson,  if  I  have  not." 

"Ah!  but,  Lily,"  said  her  brother,  "  you  have 
yet  the  time  and  chance  to  show  you  are  sorry, 


132  Lily  Nor r is'  Enemy, 

and  want  to  try  to  do  better  —  if  you  really 
do  repent  —  and  to  gain  forgiveness  from  the 
one  you  have  injured,  —  dear  mamma;  but 
poor  Will,  he  never  had  the  chance  to  make  up 
for  his  neglect  of  his  duty." 

"  Tell  me,"  begged  Lily,  all  curiosity  and 
interest. 

"  Well,"  said  Tom,  "  Will  Stages  used  to 
be,  as  he  is  now,  about  the  brightest  and 
quickest  boy  in  our  class." 

Lily  shook  her  head  doubtfully  at  this  ;  it 
was  all  Tom's  modesty,  she  thought,  and  more 
than  she  could  conveniently  believe.  Tom 
understood  her,  but  continued  his  story  with- 
out interruption. 

"  But,  for  all  that,  he  never  was  at  the  head 
of  his  class,  nor  even  took  a  very  high  stand- 
ing in  it ;  for  never  was  such  a  boy  for  being 
behindhand  as  Will  Stages.  Every  thing 
that  could  be  put  off  was  put  off,  and  he  never 
seemed  to  like  to  attend  to  any  duty  or  task 
at  the  proper  moment.  It  was  not  laziness 
either,  for  he  would  leave  some   small  task 


What  came  of  That.  133 

which  should  have  been  done  at  once,  perhaps 
to  take  up  one  that  was  far  harder,  but  which 
might  well  have  waited  till  he  had  finished  the 
first.  He  never  could  be  persuaded  to  attend 
to  his  regular  lessons  first,  but  would  let  him- 
self be  led  away  from  them,  not  always  by 
play  or  pleasure,  but  often  to  take  up  some 
book  which  there  was  no  need  for  him  to 
study,  always  believing  and  saying  that  there 
was  '  time  enough  '  —  'no  hurry '  —  'by  and 
by  he  would  do  it,'  and  so  forth ;  until,  as  you 
may  suppose,  his  lessons  were  left  until  the 
last  moment,  when  they  would  be  scrambled 
through,  and  Will  just  contrived  to  keep  him- 
self from  disgrace.  It  was  so  with  every 
thing  ;  he  never  was  ready  in  time  for  either 
work  or  pleasure.  If  he  were  going  on  a 
journey,  or  any  excursion,  ten  to  one  but  he 
was  left  behind  by  being  too  late  for  the  boat 
or  train ;  all  his  own  fault  too,  for  his  father 
and  mother  used  to  take  pains  enough  to  have 
him  ready  in  time.  When  Mr.  Peters  took 
the  school  on  a  picnic  or  frolic,  it  was  always 


134  Lily  Nor r is'  Enemy. 

a  part  of  the  entertainment  to  see  Will  come 
tearing  down  the  dock,  or  by  the  side  of  the 
cars  just  at  the  last  moment,  often  after  the 
last  moment,  and  when  it  was  too  late.  No 
boj  in  school  had  so  many  tardy  marks  ;  none 
lost  so  many  books,  papers,  and  pencils,  because 
he  always  thought  it  was  time  enough  to  put 
them  in  their  places  by  and  by.  No  lesson  did 
him  any  good,  no  disappointment  or  incon- 
venience he  brought  upon  himself  seemed  to 
cure  him  ;  until  at  last  the  sad  thing  happened 
of  which  I  am  going  to  tell  you. 

"  One  afternoon  his  father  said  to  him, 
*  Will,  if  you  are  going  out,  I  wish  these 
papers  posted  at  the  station.  Take  them  with 
you,  and  attend  to  them  at  once,  my  son,  be- 
fore you  go  upon  your  own  errand.  They  must 
go  to  grandfather  by  to-night's  train.  Can  I 
depend  upon  you  for  once  ? '  '  Yes,  indeed, 
you  may,  sir,'  promised  Will,  meaning  what 
he  said  too  ;  and  when  he  left  the  house,  he 
intended  to  go  directly  to  the  post-office  station. 
But  he  had  not  gone  far  when  he  met  a  friend ; 


What  came  of  That.  135 

and  tliis  boy  begged  him  to  go  home  with  him, 
and  see  a  fine  new  dog  he  had  just  bought. 
Will  hesitated,  looked  at  his  watch,  and  found 
that  there  were  still  nearly  two  hours  before 
the  next  mail  would  leave  the  station,  that 
mail  by  which  the  papers  must  go  if  they  were 
to  reach  the  evening  train.  '  There'll  be  plenty 
of  time,  and  all  papa  cared  for  was  that 
they  should  reach  the  station  before  the  mail 
left  it,'  he  said  to  himself;  and  he  went  with 
his  friend.  He  stayed  with  him  more  than 
an  hour ;  then  he  said  good-by,  having,  as  he 
promised  himself,  more  than  time  enough  to 
reach  the  post,  and  mail  his  papers.  But,  just 
as  he  was  about  leaving  the  house,  a  little 
brother  of  his  friend  fell  downstairs,  hurting 
himself  very  badly  ;  and,  in  the  hurry  and  dis- 
tress of  the  moment,  he  was  begged  to  run  for 
the  doctor.  He  forgot  his  papers — indeed, 
how  could  one  refuse  such  an  errand  at  such  a 
time  ?  —  and  ran  for  the  doctor,  who  lived  far 
off,  and  in  quite  a  different  direction  from  the 
station.     This  last  was  not  his  fault,  and  if  he 


136  Lily  JVorris9  Enemy, 

had  obeyed  his  father  at  once  all  would  have 
been  right ;  but,  what  with  one  thing  and  an- 
other, he  was  too  late,  and  the  mail  had  left. 
He  tried  all  he  could  to  send  the  papers  by 
that  evening  train,  but  it  was  useless,  for  he 
could  find  no  one  to  take  charge  of  them,  and 
he  knew  it  would  not  do  to  trust  them  to 
chance  hands.  So  he  could  do  nothing  but 
take  them  home  again,  which  he  did,  and  con- 
fessed his  fault.  His  father  looked  very  grave  ; 
but,  as  poor  Will  has  often  told  me,  did  not 
scold  him,  only  saying,  '  Then  I  shall  probably 
have  to  leave  town  myself  to-morrow,  and  it 
will  be  a  great  inconvenience  to  me.  I  fear, 
my  boy,  that  you  will  never  learn  the  value 
of  punctuality  and  the  evil  of  procrastination 
until  they  are  taught  you  by  some  severe 
lesson.'  Poor,  dear  old  Will !  what  a  lesson 
that  was  to  be !  Well,  his  father  was  tele- 
graphed the  next  day  to  come  himself,  since 
the  papers  had  not  arrived  ;  and  he  left  his 
home,  Lily,  never  to  come  back.  The  train 
by  which  he  went  met  with  a  fearful  accident, 


What  came  of  Thai,  137 

and  Mr.  Sturges  was  killed  in  an  instant. 
And  from  that  day  Will  has  been  the  sad, 
melancholy  fellow  you  see  him ;  for  he  blames 
himself  for  his  father's  death,  and  says  but  for 
him  he  would  have  remained  at  home,  and  so 
been  safe.  And,  Lily,  we  must  see  that  it  is  so, 
and  that,  if  Will  had  not  put  off  the  duty  he 
should  have  attended  to,  all  this  would  prob- 
ably never  have  taken  place.  If  you  could 
hear  him  talk  about  it !  " 

Lily  drew  a  long  sigh,  partly  from  pity  for 
Will  Sturges,  partly  from  dread  of  what  sor- 
rows might  come  to  herself  if  she  were  not 
cured  of  this  sad  fault,  then  said,  — 

"  But,  after  all,  Tom,  he  was  not  so  bad  to 
his  father  as  I  was  to  mamma,  for  he  did  not 
mean  to  be  naughty,  and  I'm  afraid  I  did.  Do 
you  know,  I  was  in  a  real  passion,  a  passionate 
passion,  with  mamma.  0,  Tom  !  what  shall 
I  do  ?  " 

"  What  ought  you  to  do  first  ? "  asked 
Tom. 

"  Go  and  ask  mamma  to  forgive  me ;   but 


138  Lily  Norrii  Enemy, 

how  can  she,  Tom  ? "  asked  Lily,  sobbing 
again. 

"  Mamma  would  forgive  any  thing,  if  she 
thought  you  were  truly  sorry,"  said  her 
brother. 

"  I'm  sure  I  am,"  answered  the  little  girl. 
"  If  she  could  see  in  my  heart,  she  would 
know  it  very  well." 

"  You  can  show  her  what  is  in  your  heart, 
dear,  by  letting  her  see  that  you  are  really  try- 
ing to  break  yourself  of  the  troublesome  fault 
which  has  led  you  to  behave  so  to  her." 

Lily  threw  her  arms  around  her  brother's 
neck,  and  kissed  him ;  the  next  moment  she 
was  gone  in  search  of  her  mamma.  When 
she  reached  her,  she  could  find  no  words, 
none  but  a  piteous  "  0  mamma !  "  But  her 
voice  and  her  face  spoke  for  her ;  and  in 
another  moment  she  was  clinging  fast  around 
her  mother's  neck,  her  dear,  kind  arms 
about  her,  her  kiss  of  forgiveness  on  the  little 
head  which  buried  itself  in  shame  and  contri- 
tion upon  her  shoulder. 


What  came  of  That.  139 

But,  though  Lily  was  forgiven,  she  could  not 
recover  her  spirits  all  that  day,  a  thing  very 
unusual  with  her ;  but  then,  as  she  said,  she 
had  "  never  been  so  wickedly  naughty  before," 
and  she  felt  as  if  she  could  not  do  enough  to 
make  up  to  her  mother  for  her  offence. 

She  was  rather  droll,  too,  as  she  was  apt  to 
be,  when  by  any  means  she  fell  into  low 
spirits. 

When  her  papa  came  home,  she  did  not  go 
to  meet  him  with  her  usual  light  and  dancing 
step  ;  and  he  missed  that,  and  the  joyous  face 
with  which  she  was  accustomed  to  greet  him. 

"  Why,"  he  said,  "  what  ails  my  little  sun- 
beam to-day  ? "  for  Mr.  Norris  had  heard 
of  Belle's  idea  about  the  sunbeams  in  the 
family,  and  he  delighted  to  call  his  Lily  so. 

"  fm  not  a  sunbeam  to-day ,  papa,"  said 
Lily. 

"  You're  not  a  little  cloud,  I  hope,"  said 
papa. 

"Oh,  no  !  "  answered  Lily,  mournfully, "  not 
even  so  good  as  a  cloud.     I've  been  so  very, 


140  Lily  Norrii  Enemy, 

very  naughty  that  I  believe  I'm  a  —  a "  — 
Lily  was  racking  her  imagination  for  a  com- 
parison that  should  seem  severe  enough  — 
"  I've  been  quite  a  January  thaw,  papa." 

Mr.  Norris  opened  the  door  of  the  coat 
closet,  and  hastily  put  his  head  therein,  taking 
a  remarkably  long  time  to  hang  up  his  hat, 
Lily  thought. 

Now  you  must  know  that  a  January  thaw 
was  Lily's  idea  of  all  that  was  most  disagree- 
able in  the  weather.  For,  the  last  winter,  she 
had  had  a  severe  attack  of  diphtheria ;  and 
just  as  she  was  well  enough  to  go  out,  a  long 
spell  of  damp,  foggy  days  set  in,  keeping  her 
a  prisoner  for  some  weeks  longer,  and  depriv- 
ing her  of  many  little  pleasures  on  which  she 
had  set  her  heart. 

"  She  must  not  go  outside  of  the  door  until 
this  January  thaw  is  over,"  the  doctor  said 
several  times  ;  and  Lily  had  come  to  look  upon 
this  as  the  very  worst  specimen  of  weather. 

"  Don't  you  scorn  me,  papa  ?  "  she  asked, 
when  she  had  made  her  confession  to  him. 


What  came  of  That.  141 

u  No,  I  do  not  scorn  you  by  any  means, 
Lily,"  he  answered;  "and  I  am  glad  to  see 
that  yon  do  really  feel  your  fault,  for  it  gives 
me  hope  that  you  may  try  to  correct  it  with 
more  earnestness  than  you  have  yet  done." 

And  then  he  talked  to  her  for  some  time 
longer,  setting  before  her  very  plainly  all  the 
trouble  and  inconvenience,  yes,  and  sin  too, 
which  might  come  from  indulgence  in  this 
habit  of  procrastination. 

Certainly  our  Lily  did  not  want  for  teachers, 
both  wise  and  kind ;  for  her  friends,  young 
and  old,  seemed  all  to  have  set  themselves  to 
give  her  help  in  the  right  way,  if  she  would 
but  heed  them. 


VIII. 


A    LITTLE   TALK. 


T  did  really  seem  now  that  Lily  was 
taking  herself  to  task  in  earnest,  and 
it  was  surprising  to  see  how  much 
she  improved  during  the  next  few  days. 
There  was  no  more  dilly-dallying  with  any 
little  duty  or  task  she  had  to  perform;  if 
her  mother  or  any  other  person  asked  some 
small  service  from  her,  she  ran  promptly  and 
at  once  ;  when  Nora  called  her  to  make  ready 
for  school  or  her  walk,  there  was  no  more 
stopping  u  only  to  do  this,"  or  "just  to  look  at 
that."  She  was  not  once  tardy  at  school  ; 
not  once  late  at  meals,  a  thing  which  her  father 
disliked  extremely,  but  to  which  Lily  had  until 


A  Little   Talk.  143 

now  paid  but  little  heed.  Play  and  nonsense 
were  given  up  at  school,  save  at  the  proper 
times,  and  she  came  to  her  classes  with  her 
lessons  correctly  prepared ;  for,  when  Lily 
failed  here,  it  was  not  from  stupidity,  or  want 
of  quickness,  but  simply  from  idleness,  or  her 
habit  of  saying  "  there's  time  enough  still." 

The  little  petticoat,  too,  was  progressing 
nicely,  with  a  prospect  of  being  finished  in  time 
after  all ;  for  Lily  had  begged  her  mamma  to 
divide  it  off  into  certain  portions,  so  much  to 
be  done  on  each  day,  that  she  might  know  her 
appointed  task,  and  so  be  sure  to  have  it  com- 
pleted. And  she  persevered,  though  the  little 
unaccustomed  fingers  did  grow  rather  tired 
every  day  before  they  were  through  with  the 
allotted  portion  of  seam  or  hem ;  for,  having 
been  so  idle,  or  rather  procrastinating,  she 
found  it  hard  to  make  up  for  lost  time. 
Now  she  regretted  that  she  had  not  taken  the 
advice  of  her  mother  and  teacher,  and  chosen 
one  of  the  little  aprons,  instead  of  the  petticoat. 

Nora   could   not  bear  to  see  her   plodo  ng 


144  Z*ily  JSforrii  Enemy* 

away  over  it,  and  more  than  once  begged  Mrs. 
Norris  to  let  her  help  Lily,  or  "  give  her  a  lift, " 
as  she  called  it. 

But  Mrs.  Norris  refused,  for  she  had  told 
Lily  that  she  would  not  allow  this  ;  and  much 
as  she  would  have  liked  to  relieve  her  little 
girl,  she  did  not  think  it  best,  and  hoped  that 
the  burden  she  had  brought  upon  herself  might 
be  of  service  to  her. 

However,  when  the   next   Thursday  came, 
and  Lily  was  to  go  to  the  second  "  sewing  meet 
ing,"  she  was  very  glad  that  she  had  so  much 
done  on  her  petticoat. 

"  For  I  would  be  too  ashamed  to  go  to-day 
if  I  had  not  done  better  than  I  did  last 
week,  mamma,"  she  said.  "  And  two  or  three 
of  the  children  in  our  class  have  finished  their 
work  already  ;  and  here  is  old  me  with  mine 
not  quite  half  done." 

Lily  was  very  "  scornful, "  as  she  would  have 
called  it,  of  herself  in  these  days,  and  rather 
delighted  in  heaping  uncomplimentary  names 
and  reproaches  upon  her  own  head. 


A  Little   Talk.  145 

When  she  reached  Mrs.  Bradford's  house  at 
the  appointed  time,  she  was  rather  dismayed 
to  find  that,  in  spite  of  her  industry  of  the  last 
few  days,  the  other  children  had  accomplished 
much  more  than  she  had  done.  Maggie's  skirt 
was  so  near  completion  that  she  had  but  a  little 
piece  of  the  hem  to  do  ;  and  she  had  only  left 
this,  in  order  that  she  might,  as  she  said  keep 
company  with  the  rest  in  the  sewing  meeting. 
And  Maggie  had  made  a  button-hole  !  Yes, 
actually  made  a  button-hole !  It  was  her 
first  attempt,  but  still  it  was  tolerably  well 
done.  It  had  cost  her  a  good  deal  of  trouble 
too,  and  even  some  few  tears ;  but  she  had 
persevered,  and  now  was  glad  that  she  had 
done  so. 

"Patience  and  Perseverance  conquer  all 
things,  you  know,"  she  said  to  Lily,  when 
Bessie,  with  some  pardonable  pride  in  her 
sister's  success,  displayed  this  triumph  of  art ; 
"  but  I  really  thought  that  button-hole  must 
conquer  me,  only  I  wouldn't  let  it,  if  I  did 
cry  a  little  about  it." 
10 


146  Lily  JVornV  Enemy. 

Bessie,  too,  had  nearly  finished  her  bag ;  al- 
though Belle  was  rather  behind  the  others,  she 
had  a  fair  prospect  of  being  quite  through  with 
her  task  in  time. 

They  all  encouraged  Lily,  and  told  her  she 
might  still  finish  her  petticoat  by  the  appointed 
day,  if  she  would  but  continue  to  do  as  well  as 
she  was  now  doing. 

The  sewing  meeting  passed  off  this  day 
without  hindrance ;  for  Baby  Annie  was  not 
admitted ;  and  there  was  nothing  else  espe- 
cially to  take  off  Lily's  attention  from  the  task 
in  hand.  Aunt  Annie  read  an  interesting 
story,  it  was  true,  but  all  the  little  girls  sewed 
industriously  as  they  listened  ;  and  at  the  end 
of  the  hour  Maggie's  petticoat  and  Bessie's  bag 
were  completed,  while  those  of  Belle  and  Lily 
had  made  fair  progress. 

"  I  have  only  three  more  days,"  said  the 
latter,  "  for  you  know  we  have  to  give  in  the 
things  on  Tuesday,  and  this  is  Thursday." 

Lily's  tone  was  rather  hopeless. 

" 1  think  you  might  finish  your  skirt  in  two 


A  little   Talk.  147 

days,  Lily,"  said  Miss  Stanton.  "  Two  hours' 
steady  work  such  as  you  have  given  to  it  to-day 
would  be  quite  time  enough.  If  I  were  you  I 
should  sew  one  hour  to-morrow,  and  one  on 
Saturday,  so  that  you  may  have  little  or  noth- 
ing for  your  last  day,  Monday." 

"  Why  wouldn't  it  do  just  as  well  to  keep 
some  for  Monday  ?  "  asked  Lily,  folding  up  her 
work. 

"  Only  that  if  you  could  finish  it  in  the  next 
two  days  it  would  be  better,"  answered  Miss 
Annie,  "  because  something  might  happen  to 
prevent  you  from  doing  so  at  the  last  moment." 

"  Don't  have  any  more  putting-off  fits, 
Lily,"  said  Maggie.  "  Don't  you  find  '  distance 
lends  enchantment  to  the  view '  of  Pro  ?  What 
are  you  laughing  at,  Aunt  Annie  ?  There  is 
such  a  proverb,  for  I  read  it  this  very  morning, 
only  I  didn't  think  I  should  have  a  good  chance 
to  use  it  so  soon.  I'll  show  it  to  you,  so  you 
need  not  think  I  made  it  up." 

"  Yes,  I  know,"  said  Annie;,  catching  the 
rosy,  eager  face  between  her  two  hands,  and 


148  Lily  Norris*  Enemy, 

lovingly  kissing  either  dimpled  cheek.  "  It  is 
an  old,  old  proverb,  and  one  very  well  known, 
dear  Maggie ;  and  let  us  hope  that  Procrasti- 
nation may  indeed  look  so  much  better  at  a 
distance  than  near  at  hand  that  Lily  may 
keep  it  there,  and  not  let  it  come  near  her." 

"  Aunt  Annie,"  said  Bessie,  "  you  must 
be  a  very  laughable  person,  for  so  often 
you  laugh  at  things  that  we  don't  think 
funny  at  all." 

"  That  is  true,"  answered  Aunt  Annie, 
whose  eyes  were  brimming  with  mischief, 
while  she  laughed  more  merrily  than  ever. 

"  Well,"  said  Lily,  "  I  did  not  quite  under 
stand  what  Maggie  meant  'till  Miss  Annie 
said  that,  but  I  do  know  now ;  and,  indeed,  1 
do  think  Pro  is  better  far  off  than  close  by. 
I'm  sure  I  am  a  great  deal  better  anyway, 
and  I  shall  never  let  him  come  near  me 
again." 

Bessie  stood  looking  gravely  at  her  as  she 
spoke. 

"  I  see  you  don't  quite  trust  me,  Bessie," 


A  little   Talk,  149 

said  Lily,  "  but  you'll  see.  If  you  only  knew 
all  that  I  know,  you'd  learn  what  good  reason 
I  have  for  believing  I  shall  never  procrastinate 
again  ;  but  I'd  rather  not  tell  you  what  it  is." 

For  Lily  did  really  shrink  from  letting  her 
little  playmates  know  of  her  sad  behavior  to 
her  dear  mother,  although  she  could  not  refrain 
from  alluding  to  it  in  this  mysterious  manner. 

"  You  know  you're  all  coming  to  my  house 
to  spend  the  day  with  me  on  Saturday,"  she 
continued  ;  "  and  before  you  come,  I  shall  have 
the  petticoat  all  finished,  and  will  show  it  to 
you." 

Lily  kept  faithfully  to  her  resolution  upon 
the  next  day,  sewing  industriously  for  a  full 
hour,  and  then  putting  by  her  work  with  the 
consciousness  that  she  had  accomplished  all 
that  could  be  expected  of  her  for  that  day. 
Perhaps  she  had  been  further  encouraged  to 
do  so  by  hearing  most  of  her  young  school- 
mates say  that  morning  that  their  little  gar 
ments  were  quite  finished,  and  ready  to  be 
handed  in  to  Miss  Asliton  on  Tuesday.     Even 


150  Lily  Norris1  Enemy. 

Mabel  Walton,  although  she  had  been  quite  ill 
with  a  bad  cold,  had  completed  her  bag ;  and 
little  Belle  hoped  and  expected  to  put  the  last 
stitches  in  her's  on  that  afternoon. 

"  Is  your  apron  done,  Nellie  ?  "  asked  Lily 
of  Nellie  Ransom. 

"  Not  quite,"  answered  Nellie,  "  and  I  shall 
not  finish  it  before  to-morrow,  for  my  two  little 
cousins  are  in  town  to-day,  and  I  must  give  up 
this  afternoon  to  them.  I  am  glad  that  I  took 
the  apron  instead  of  the  petticoat,  for  I  am  sure 
I  should  not  have  had  time  to  make  the  last." 

"  You  could  have  tried,"  said  Grade.  "  I'm 
sure  a  petticoat  is  not  so  much  to  make.  Mine 
was  all  done  on  Saturday  evening,  and  I  did 
not  have  any  help  or  showing  either.  Mamma 
is  away,  and  I  wouldn't  let  my  nurse  help  me, 
but  did  it  every  bit  myself.  But  then  every 
one  says  I'm  uncommonly  handy  with  my  nee- 
dle ;  "  and  Grade  gave  her  head  the  toss  which 
always  excited  the  displeasure  of  her  school- 
mates. 

"  Well,"  said  Nellie,  coloring  and  hesitating 


A  little   Talk.  151 

a  little,  "I  felt  pretty  sure  that  I  could  not 
make  the  petticoat  in  time,  and  I  thought  it 
was  better  to  take  that  which  I  knew  I  could 
do ;  and  now  you  see  I  should  feel  badly  if  I 
could  not  bring  in  my  work  when  the  rest  do." 

"  Yes,  and  you  were  very  right,"  said  Belle. 
"  I  told  Aunt  Margaret  about  you,  and  she  said 
you  were  a  wise,  prudent  little  girl." 

"  I  wouldn't  be  such  a  slow  poke  as  Nellie, 
would  you?"  whispered  Grade  to  Lily,  when 
Nellie  had  moved  away  a  little. 

"  I  s'pose  I'd  be  as  I  was  made,  and  I  s'pose 
you'd  be  as  you  were  made,"  said  Lily,  loftily, 
for  her  "  scorn,"  as  she  would  have  called  it, 
was  always  excited  by  Grade's  attempts  to 
exalt  herself  above  her  companions  and  school- 
mates, and  it  rather  delighted  her  to  put  Gra- 
de down. 

This  was  difficult,  however.  Grade's  self- 
sufficiency  was  so  great  that  only  a  very  hard 
blow  could  overthrow  it,  even  for  a  moment ; 
and  Lily  was  too  much  afraid  of  being 
considered     an     anti-politer     to     speak     her 


152  Lily  JVorn's1  Enemy* 

mind  as  plainly  as  she  might  otherwise  have 
done. 

So  Gracie  was  not  at  all  rebuffed  by  the 
answer  she  received ;  and,  so  far  from  taking 
it  as  the  reproof  Lily  intended  it  to  be,  only 
replied,  — 

"  Yes,  of  course ;  but  I'm  very  glad  I  was 
made  smarter  than  Nellie.  Why,  sometimes 
I  can  learn  three  lessons  while  she  is  learning 
one,  she  is  so  slow  and  stupid  ! " 

"  She  is  not  stupid,"  retorted  Lily,  forgetting 
her  determination  to  "be  courteous "  in  her 
indignation ;  and,  indeed,  Gracie  often  made  it 
difficult  for  those  about  her  to  keep  to  this  res- 
olution. "  She  is  not  stupid,  and  if  she  is  a  lit- 
tle bit  slow  about  learning,  she  always  knows 
her  lessons  perfectly,  and  never  misses ;  no, 
never.  You  know  she's  been  head  of  the 
spelling  class  for  most  a  year ;  you  know  it, 
Gracie,  and  Miss  Ashton  says  she  is  one  of 
her  very  best  scholars.  And  the  whole  world 
knows"  —  Lily  was  waxing  energetic  in  her 
defence,  and  more  earnest  to  be  emphatic  than 


A  little   Talk.  153 

strictly  according  to  facts  —  "  the  whole  world 
knows  that  she  writes  the  best  compositions 
in  our  class  since  Maggie  Bradford  left." 

"Pooh!  I  never  thought  Maggie's  composi- 
tions were  so  very  great,"  said  Gracie. 

"  That  shows  you're  no  judge,  and  have  very 
little  common  sense,"  said  Lily  severely.  "  I'm 
sure  no  one  could  write  better  poetry  than  that 
poem  she  wrote  for  me,  and  you  might  be  proud 
if  you  could  make  such  lovely  verses.  But  I 
don't  want  to  quarrel  with  you,  Gracie,  so  we'd 
better  not  talk  any  more  about  it,  'cause  I  do 
feel  like  saying  something  not  courteous  to  you." 

Gracie  in  her  turn  would  have  liked  to  say 
something  that  was  not  very  pleasant,  but  she 
felt  that  she  could  not  well  do  so  when  Lily 
declared  her  intention  of  not  quarrelling,  and 
retired  in  such  a  graceful  manner  from  the 
threatened  dispute.  Still  she  did  feel  that 
somehow  Lily  had  had  the  best  of  it,  and 
had  rather  taken  her  down,  as  she  was  apt  to 
do  when  Gracie  displayed  her  vanity  and  self- 
conceit. 


154  Lily  JVorris*  Enemy. 

Moreover,  clever  and  bright  though  she 
might  be  at  her  lessons,  Gracie  was  not  very 
quick  at  words ;  and  she  often  felt  that  Lily 
had  the  advantage  of  her  in  their  too  frequent 
little  disputes.  And  now  while  she  was  hesi- 
tating as  to  whether  she  should  make  a  sharp 
answer,  and  what  that  answer  should  be,  Miss 
Ashton  came  in  and  rang  the  bell ;  so  that  the 
opportunity,  or  I  should  say  temptation,  for 
further  contention  was  at  an  end. 

"  I  hope,"  said  Miss  Ashton,  when  the  time- 
came  for  dismissing  school,  "  I  hope  that  not 
one  of  my  little  girls  will  fail  me  on  Tuesday. 
I  should  be  very  much  disappointed,  and  mor- 
tified too,  if  I  did  not  receive  each  garment  quite 
finished  and  ready  for  use.  Some  of  you  I 
know  are  already  through  with  the  work  which 
you  have  undertaken ;  and  after  what  I  have 
said,  I  believe  and  hope  there  is  no  one  who 
will  be  willing  to  bring  hers  unfinished." 

Her  eye  rested  on  Lily  as  she  spoke. 
Perhaps  she  was  hardly  conscious  that  it  was 
so,  but  she  almost  involuntarily  turned  to  her 


A  little   Talk.  155 

as  the  one  who  was  most  likely  to  fail ;  and, 
however  that  might  be,  the  little  girl  felt  her- 
self called  upon  to  answer,  not  only  for 
herself,  but  for  the  whole  class. 

"  We'll  be  very  sure  to  be  ready,  Miss 
Ashton,"  she  said;  "  and  I  will  too.  I  see  you 
are  afraid  of  me,  but  you  need  not  be,  for  I 
b'lieve  I'm  quite  cured  now  of  putting  off." 

Miss  Ashton  smiled,  but  it  was  rather  a 
doubtful  smile,  for  she  feared  that  Lily  was 
too  confident  of  herself,  and  the  strength  of 
her  own  resolutions. 

So,  as  I  have  said,  all  this  made  Lily  feel 
very  industrious  and  prompt  that  clay ;  and  as 
soon  as  she  was  at  liberty  for  the  work,  she 
set  to  her  task  at  once,  and  accomplished  it 
without  delay. 

But  notwithstanding  this,  the  day  did  not 
pass  by  without  a  fall  into  the  old  bad  habit, 
as  you  shall  learn. 


IX. 


SATURDAY  MORNING'S   WORK. 


ATURDAY  came,  a  bright  and  beauti- 
ful day,  as  Lily  rejoiced  to  see  when 
she  ran  to  the  window  and   peeped 
out  as  soon  as  she  was  out  of  her  little  bed. 

For  she  was  to  have  quite  a  party  of 
children  to  spend  the  day  with  her,  and  she 
had  been  very  anxious  that  the  weather  should 
be  pleasant. 

Maggie  and  Bessie,  Belle  and  Mabel,  and 
Nellie  and  Carrie  Ransom  were  all  coming, 
and  they  expected  to  have  a  great  frolic.  All 
Lily's  playmates  were  fond  of  visiting  her,  not 
only  because  they  loved  her,  and  her  homo 


Saturday  Mornings    Work.         157 

was  a  pleasant  one,  but  also  because  there  was 
such  a  grand  play-room  in  Mr.  Norris'  house. 

This  was  a  great  open  attic  hall  or  gallery 
The  house  was  a  large  one,  and  this  open 
space  ran  across  the  whole  width  of  it,  the 
attic  rooms  being  at  either  end,  and  a  stair 
case  coming  up  at  the  side.  But  this  was  shut 
in  by  a  door  at  the  foot  of  the  flight,  so  that  it 
was  quite  secluded,  and  considered  rather  an 
advantage,  as.it  afforded  a  kind  of  retiring 
room.  There  were  large  bins  ranged  on  the 
opposite  side  from  the  stairs,  which  had  once 
been  used  to  hold  coal  and  wood ;  but  they  were 
empty  now,  and  the  top  of  the  lids  afforded 
capital  seats  for  the  spectators  who  witnessed 
certain  performances  which  frequently  took 
place  in  the  open  arena.  Never  was  there 
such  a  famous  garret,  or  one  which  had  seen 
greater  sport  and  fun. 

Here  the  children  could  make  as  much 
noise  as  they  pleased  without  fear  of  disturb 
ing  older  people ;  here  there  was  plenty  of 
space  for  playing  "  tag,"  "  hunt  the  slipper," 


158  Lily  Norrif  Enemy, 

"chairs,"  or  any  other  frolicsome  game  ;  here 
they  acted  proverbs,  charades,  and  so  forth. 
These  last  were  now  their  favorite  amusements, 
and  Mr.  Norris'  attic  was  considered  the  best 
place  for  their  performance. 

For,  added  to  these  other  advantages,  there 
was  also  a  room  devoted  to  the  storing  of  all 
manner  of  odds  and  ends  which  were  not  in 
general  use,  and  were  stored  there  to  be  out  of 
the  way ;  and  with  certain  of  these  articles 
the  children  were  allowed  to  do  as  they  pleased, 
and  to  make  them  serviceable  in  their  games 
and  plays.  Among  them  were  two  or  three 
old  trunks  full  of  old  party  dresses  and 
ribbons ;  and  any  little  girl  can  imagine  what 
delightful  means  these  afforded  for  "  dressing 
up."  There  were  flags,  too,  of  various  sizes 
and  conditions,  old-fashioned  curtain  fixtures, 
and  even  a  tent  of  striped  red  and  white 
canvas.  All  these  Lily  and  her  playmates 
were  allowed  to  convert  to  their  own  uses,  so 
long  as  they  destroyed  nothing  ;  and  many  an 
hour   did  patient  Nora,  ever  devoted   to  the 


Saturday  Morning's    Work,         159 

pleasure  of  her  nursling,  spend  in  putting 
them  to  rights  after  they  had  been  thoroughly 
rummaged  and  scattered  abroad. 

Chief  among  the  treasures  in  the  attic  was 
an  old  rocking-horse  which  had  belonged  to 
Tom ;  at  least  he  had  once  been  a  rocking- 
horse,  but  he  had  now  not  only  lost  his 
rockers,  but  also  his  hind  legs.  Strange  to 
say,  however,  this  did  not  at  all  interfere  with 
his  usefulness  ;  perhaps  it  rather  added  to  it, 
for  when  he  was  supposed  to  fill  his  original 
character,  namely,  that  of  a  horse,  he  was 
accommodated  with  two  imaginary  limbs  in 
the  place  of  the  missing  members,  and  he 
never  complained  that  they  did  not  answer 
the  purpose  quite  as  well. 

The  number  of  uses  to  which  he  was  put, 
and  the  characters  he  was  supposed  to  repre- 
sent, would  be  impossible  to  tell.  Sometimes 
he  was  a  prince,  and  sometimes  a  beggar  or  a 
robber ;  sometimes  a  servant,  and  sometimes 
a  lover  or  husband ;  sometimes  a  little  boy,  at 
others  a  cross  old  man;    again  he  was  con- 


160  Lily  JVorris9  Enemy. 

verted  into  an  elephant  by  having  the  end  of  a 
curved  iron  pipe  thrust  into  his  mouth,  or  into 
a  camel  by  a  pillow  upon  his  back ;  at  times, 
a  fierce  wild  beast,  growling  and  raging ;  at 
others,  the  meekest  of  sheep  or  cows,  mild 
and  gentle  in  all  respects.  At  one  time  he 
spoke  in  a  squeaking  but  plaintive  voice  ;  at 
another  in  what  was  supposed  to  be  a  deep, 
roaring  bass. 

I  forgot  to  say  that  he  had  lost  his  tail  as 
well  as  his  legs ;  and  his  beauty  was  farther 
increased  by  the  fact  that  Maggie  and  Lily,  find- 
ing his  ears  inconvenient  for  the  proper  fitting 
of  crowns,  caps,  wreaths,  and  other  decorations, 
had  cropped  them  close  to  his  head.  He  had 
also  been  shorn  of  his  hair  in  various  pla- 
ces, which  gave  him  a  mangy  and  distressed 
appearance ;  so  that,  save  in  the  eyes  of  his 
most  intimate  and  attached  friends,  he  was 
not  a  horse  of  very  fine  personal  appearance. 

This  gallant  and  accommodating  steed 
rejoiced  in  the  name  of  Sir  Percy  Hotspur ; 
but    this  was  laid    aside  when    convenience 


Saturday  Mornings    Work.        161 

demanded  it,  and  he  obligingly  answered  to 
the  name  of  the  moment. 

Dear  to  the  hearts  of  Lily  and  her  young 
friends  was  Sir  Percy  Hotspur;  and  he  was 
always  tenderly  cared  for  after  he  was  through 
with  his  performances,  being  left  to  repose  in 
the  intervals  in  a  corner  of  the  attic,  with  his 
head  upon  an  old  sofa  pillow,  and  carefully 
covered  with  a  disused  carriage  robe. 

What  a  long  history  of  an  old  rocking-horse, 
you  may  say,  and  so  it  is ;  but,  you  see,  Sir 
Percy  Hotspur  played  a  very  important  part 
in  Lily's  life,  and  she  was  deeply  attached  to 
him,  and  as  this  is  her  story,  whatever  con- 
cerned her  deserves  our  attention. 

With  so  many  attractions,  you  may  believe 
that  an  invitation  to  Lily's  house  was  always 
considered  desirable,  and  eagerly  accepted. 

Never,  I  think,  were  four  little  girls  who 
found  more  enjoyment  in  their  small  lives 
and  in  one  another,  than  our  Maggie  and  Bes- 
sie, Belle  and  Lily.  They  were  so  much 
together  that  whatever  interested  one  inter- 
11 


1 62  Lily  Nor r is'  Enemy* 

ested  all  the  others,  and  any  pleasure  was  in- 
creased if  they  could  all  share  it  together. 

But  we  must  go  to  the  history  of  this  Sat- 
urday. 

"  Lily,"  said  Mrs.  Norris,  as  the  family  left 
the  breakfast  table,  "it  is  nine  o'clock  now ; 
and  if  I  were  you,  I  would  finish  that  little 
petticoat  at  once.  I  think  you  can  do  it  in  an 
hour,  and  then  it  will  be  off  your  mind  and 
conscience ;  and  after  you  have  practised  for 
half  an  hour,  you  can  enjoy  yourself  for  the 
rest  of  the  day  as  you  please." 

"  I  don't  believe  the  children  will  come  be- 
fore twelve  o'clock,  do  you,  mamma  ?  '•  asked 
Lily. 

"  No,  probably  not." 

"  Then  I  have  three  hours,"  said  Lily. 
"  That  is  lots  of  time,  and  I  shall  be  sure  to 
have  it  done,  even  if  I  don't  begin  right  away." 

"  Take  care,  Lily,"  said  her  mother,  lifting 
a  warning  finger,  and  shaking  her  head  with  a 
smile  which  told  the  little  girl  what  that  warn- 
ing meant. 


Saturday  Morning's    Work.        163 

"  Don't  be  afraid,  mamma,"  she  answered 
"  I'll  be  sure  to  do  it  this  morning ;  and  even  ii 
I  did  not  quite  finish  it,  I  have  Monday  too." 

Again  Mrs.  Norris  shook  her  head,  and  thif 
time  without  the  smile ;  for  she  plainly  sa^ 
that  Lily  was  in  one  of  her  careless,  putting 
off  moods,  and  she  feared  the  work  wouh 
suffer. 

"  I  am  going  right  away,  mamma,"  said 
Lily,  as  she  saw  how  grave  her  mother 
looked ;  and  away  she  danced,  singing  as  she 
went. 

But  as  she  ran  through  the  hall,  she  met 
her  brother  Tom  with  his  puppy,  which  he  was 
going  to  take  for  a  walk.  Lily  never  saw  the 
little  dog  without  stopping  to  have  a  romp 
with  him,  and  the  playful  little  fellow  was 
growing  fond  of  her  already,  and  was  alwgys 
eager  for  the  frolic  with  which  she  indulged 
him. 

He  sprang  upon  her  now,  whining  and  crying 
with  pleasure  at  seeing  her,  and  Lily  stopped, 
of  course,  to  pet  him,  and  then  began  racing 


164.  Lily  JVorrzs9  Enemy. 

up  and  down  through  the  hall ;  while  Tom 
good-naturedly  waited,  and  stood  by,  laughing 
at  the  antics  of  the  two  frolicsome  young 
things.  Gay  and  careless  as  the  puppy  him- 
self, Lily  had  no  more  thought  for  the  task 
awaiting  her. 

I  do  not  know  that  she  should  be  very  much 
blamed  for  this ;  but  few  little  girls  who  would 
not  have  done  the  same,  and  Lily  knew  that 
there  was  much  more  than  time  enough  for  the 
completion  of  the  petticoat.  But  I  want  to  show 
you  how  the  moments,  yes,  and  the  hours  too, 
slipped  away ;  how  little  bits  of  idling  and  pro- 
crastination stole  away  the  time  before  she  was 
aware,  and  in  the  end  brought  her  into  sad 
trouble. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  went  by  in  Lily's  frolic 
with  the  puppy,  until  at  last  Tom  said  he  must 
go. 

"  I  would  take  you  with  me,  Lil,"  he  said, 
"  only  that  I  know  mamma  wishes  you  to  do 
your  work." 

"  Yes,"  said  Lily  reluctantly ;   and  but  for 


Saturday  Mornings    Work.         165 

very  shame  she  would  have  begged  to  put  off 
her  work  and  accompany  him. 

Tom  and  his  dog  were  gone,  and  Lily  saun- 
tered towards  the  sitting-room. 

"  T  don't  feel  a  bit  like  sewing  now,"  she 
said  to  herself.  "  I  could  have  gone  with 
Tom,  and  been  back  time  enough  to  finish  my 
petticoat.  Every  one  is  so  particular  about  my 
putting-off,  and  they  never  want  me  to  do  any 
thing  I  want  to.  But  I  s'pose  I'll  have  to  fin- 
ish the  old  thing  now." 

Lily,  you  see,  was  allowing  temptation  to 
creep  in.  She  did  not  still  its  first  whisper- 
ings, but  suffered  them  to  make  her  feel  dis- 
contented and  fretful. 

She  had  stopped  at  the  foot  of  the  staircase, 
and  with  both  hands  clasped  about  the  newel- 
post,  was  swaying  herself  back  and  forth,  when 
Nora  spoke  to  her  from  the  head  of  the  stairs. 

"  Miss  Lily,"  she  said,  by  way  of  a  gentle 
reminder,  "  do  you  need  any  help  with  your 
work  ? " 

"  No,  I  b'lieve  not,"  answered  the  little  girl. 


1 66  Lily  JVorris9  Enemy. 

"  If  I  do,  I'll  come  to  you.  I  was  just  thinking 
where  I'd  go  to  sew." 

"  Will  you  come  to  the  nursery  ?  It  is  all 
put  in  order,"  asked  Nora,  anxious  to  cany 
her  point,  and  seeing  from  Lily's  manner, that 
her  old  enemy  was  busy  with  her. 

"  I'll  see  presently,"  said  Lily.  "  I'm  just 
going  to  the  little  parlor  to  look  for  my  petti- 
coat. I  forget  what  I  did  with  it  yesterday 
when  I  had  done  sewing." 

And,  leaving  her  hold  of  the  banisters,  she 
crossed  the  hall.  But  as  she  passed  the  open 
door  of  the  drawing-room,  the  piano  caught 
her  eye,  and  turned  her  thoughts  into  another 
channel. 

"  I  think  I'll  go  and  practise  first,"  she  said. 
"  It's  all  the  same  thing,  and  I  can  do  the  pet- 
ticoat afterwards.     I  have  just  the  same  time." 

This  was  true  enough,,  but  Lily  was.  not 
wise,  for  she  liked  to  practise,  and  she  did  not 
like  to  sew ;  and  it  would  have  been  better  for 
her  to  have  done  with  the  least  pleasant  duty 
first. 


Saturday  Morning's    Work,        167 

She  placed  herself  at  the  piano,  and,  I  must 
do  her  the  justice  to  say,  practised  steadily  for 
half  an  hour. 

"  It  is  ten  minutes  of  ten,"  she  said,  looking 
at  the  clock.  "Oh,  there's  lots  of  time  yet ;  I 
can  stay  here  a  little  longer.  I'm  going  to 
practise  this  new  piece  some  more." 

This  new  piece  was  one  Miss  Ashton  had 
given  her  the  day  before,  so  that  she  had  had 
but  one  lesson  on  it ;  and  it  had  all  the  charm 
of  novelty  to  her,  besides  being,  as  she  thought, 
the  prettiest  piece  she  had  ever  played. 

"  I'll  astonish  Miss  Ashton  by  letting  her 
see  how  well  I  have  learned  it,"  she  said  to 
herself;  and  she  remained  at  the  piano,  play- 
ing over  and  over  again  the  lively  little  waltz, 
until  her  mother's  voice  at  the  door  recalled 
her  to  her  neglected  duty. 

"  Lily,"  it  said,  "  you  have  been  practising 
more  than  half  an  hour,  dear." 

"  Yes,  mamma,"  said  Lily,  glancing  over  at 
the  clock  again ;  "  more  than  three  quarters ; 
but  my  new  music  is  so  very  pretty,  and  I  want 


1 68  Lily  Norris'1  Enemy, 

Miss  Ashton  to  be  quite  surprised  with  my 
knowing  it  so  well." 

"  I  am  afraid  Miss  Ashton  may  have  a  less 
agreeable  surprise  if  you  do  not  take  care,  my 
darling,"  said  Mrs.  Norris  gravely. 

"  Oh,  you  mean  about  the  petticoat,  mamma  ; 
but  there's  lots  and  lots  of  time.  I  b'lieve  Pro 
has  had  hold  of  me  this  morning,"  said  Lily, 
jumping  down  from  the  piano  stool,  "  and  111 
come  right  away ;  but  you  see  I  was  so  very 
sure  about  having  time  enough  to-day,  mamma, 
that  it  did  not  make  so  much  difference. 
There's  a  good  deal  of  time  yet  to-day,  and  I 
have  Monday  too." 

"  Put  away  your  music,  Lily,"  said  her 
mother  ;  and  she  stood  waiting  while  Lily  laid 
in  its  place  the  music  she  would  have  left  scat- 
tered over  the  piano.  Perhaps  Mrs.  Norris 
thought  it  just  as  well  not  to  lose  sight  again 
of  her  heedless  little  daughter  until  she  had 
her  settled  at  her  work. 

"  Bring  your  work-box  to  my  room,"  said 
Mrs.  Norris.  "  I  have  something  to  do  there, 
and  we  will  have  a  nice,  cosey  time." 


Saturday  Morning's    Work,        169 

Lily  ran  for  the  box,  and  was  back  with  it 
in  a  moment,  for  as  she  went  she  said  to  her- 
self, — 

"  I  b'lieve  I've  let  Pro  steal  a  good  many 
little  thefts  already  this  morning ;  now  I'll 
just  send  him  off  right  away.  I  have  plenty 
of  time  yet,  but  now  I  really  must  make 
haste." 

Lily's  work-box  was  of  rather  formidable 
dimensions  ;  indeed,  some  people  thought  it 
but  one  stage  removed  from  a  small  trunk. 
It  had  been  presented  to  her  by  an  old  lady 
with  whom  she  was  a  great  pet,  and  although 
it  was  extremely  inconvenient  in  regard  to  size 
and  weight,  it  was  very  handsomely  fitted  up 
with  mother-of-pearl  and  silver,  and  contained 
every  implement  which  could  be  needed  by  the 
most  accomplished  needle-woman.  Upon  the 
lid  was  a  silver  plate,  with  "  For  an  industri- 
ous little  girl"  engraved  upon  it. 

Now  as  we  know,  our  Lily  was  by  no  means 
an  industrious  little  girl ;  nevertheless  she 
took  great  pride  and  delight  in  this  "  ark,"  as 


170  Lily  JVorrzs*  Enemy, 

Tom  privately  called  it ;  and,  although  she  had 
two  or  three  other  work-boxes  and  baskets 
much  more  suitable  and  convenient  in  point 
of  size,  she  made  use  of  this  one  whenever  she 
could  do  so. 

"  It  held  so  much,"  she  said,  and  indeed  it 
did  ;  and  here  the  petticoat  had  reposed  in  the 
intervals  when  she  was  not  busy  with  it ;  that 
is,  when  Lily  had  put  it  away  in  a  proper 
manner. 

She  followed  her  mother  with  this  ponderous 
treasure  clasped  in  both  arms  ;  and,  when  she 
reached  mamma's  room,  brought  her  little 
chair,  and  opened  the  box. 

"  Why,"  she  said,  when  she  had  removed 
the  upper  tray  which  held  all  the  dainty  imple- 
ments, and  looked  into  the  empty  space  beneath, 
"  why,  where  is  my  petticoat  ?  Somebody  has 
gone  and  taken  it  out.  Mamma,  did  you  take 
it  ? " 

"  No,  dear,  I  have  not  touched  it,"  said  Mrs. 
Norris.     "  Did  you  put  it  away  yesterday  ?  " 

"  Yes,  mamma,  you  know  I  always  put  it  in 


Saturday  Morning's    Work.        171 

here.  I'll  ask  Nora ;  "  and  away  ran  Lily  to 
the  nursery. 

"  Nora,  did  yon  take  my  orphan  petticoat 
out  of  my  work-box  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  No,  indeed,  dear ;  and  why  would  I  touch 
it,  unless  you  wanted  some  help  with  it?" 
answered  Nora. 

Back  went  Lily  to  her  mamma's  room, 
troubled  and  indignant. 

"  Mamma,  some  one  has  taken  it.  I  never 
knew  any  thing  so  mean.  Nora  don't  know 
any  thing  about  it." 

"  Who  would  take  it,  Lily  ?  I  certainly  did 
not,  and  you  say  Nora  did  not.  Papa  or  Tom 
could  have  no  reason  for  touching  it.  I  will 
tell  you  what  I  think." 

"  What  mamma  ?  "  asked  Lily,  anxiously. 

"  That  you  could  not  have  put  it  away  yes- 
terday when  you  stopped  sewing  upon  it. 
Think  a  moment,  my  daughter  ;  can  you  dis- 
tinctly recollect  putting  it  away  in  your  box  ?  " 

Lily  stood  considering  one  moment ;  then  dis- 
may and  shame  gradually  overspread  her  face. 


172  Lily  Norris>  Enemy. 

"  No,  mamma,  I  just  believe  I  did  not. 
When  I  was  going  to  put  away  my  petticoat 
in  the  box,  I  heard  papa  come  in,  and  I  wanted 
to  know  why  he  had  come  home  so  early  ;  so  I 
thought  I  would  just  wait  one  moment,  and  put 
it  away  when  I  had  asked  him,  and  I  dropped 
it  on  the  floor  and  ran  to  papa.  And  you  know 
he  had  come  to  take  us  to  see  those  pictures, 
and  I  never  thought  another  thing  about  the 
petticoat.  I  quite  forgot  I  had  not  put  it  away 
when  I  told  you  I  had.  I  will  go  and  look  in 
the  sitting-room  where  I  was  sewing  y ester- 
day." 

But  her  search  proved  fruitless,  although 
she  certainly  did  look  thoroughly  through 
every  part  of  the  room.  Nora  was  called,  and 
took  her  part,  but  all  in  vain ;  and  at  last 
mamma  came.  Mrs.  Norris  rather  felt  that 
she  should  let  Lily  be  at  all  the  trouble  of  find- 
ing the  petticoat  for  herself;  but  the  child 
seemed  so  grieved  that  she  could  not  bear  to 
punish  her  in  that  way.  But  mamma  was  not 
more  successful  than  her  little  daughter  and 


Saturday  Morning's    Work.        173 

tlio.  nurse  had  been,  although  in  the  end  every 
sen  ant  was  questioned,  and  every  room 
searched. 

"  It  is  very  strange.  Are  you  quite  sure  you 
have  not  seen  it,  Hannah  ?"  asked  Mrs.  Norris 
of  her  chambermaid,  a  rather  dull  girl,  who 
had  been  but  a  short  time  in  the  house.  "  Have 
you  seen  nothing  of  the  kind  lying  about  in  the 
sitting-room,  or  did  you  not  touch  Miss  Lily's 
box  ? " 

"  Miss  Lily's  harnsum  box,  is  it,  ma'am  ? 
8ure,  and  I  did  see  that  a  sittin'  on  the  floor, 
where  I  thought  you'd  not  be  plased  to  see  it 
at  all  at  all,  so  I  just  lifted  it  to  the  table  where 
I  seen  it  sittin'  before  ;  but  ne'er  a  thing  I  seen 
beside  it.  It  wouldn't  be  Miss  Lily's  work  what 
I  found  the  puppy  a  pullin'  round  the  ary, 
ma'am,  —  the  mischavous  baste  that  he  is,  my 
heart's  most  broke  with  him,  —  an'  I  didn't 
take  heed  what  it  was,  but  seem'  it  that  dirty, 
I  just  put  it  in  the  basket  with  the  siled 
clothes." 

Away  went  Lily,  Nora  after  her ;  and,  sure 


174  Lily  Norris'  Enemy. 

enough,  the  latter  soon  fished  out  the  unfortu- 
nate little  petticoat  from  the  soiled-clothes 
basket.  Now,  indeed,  Lily  was  distressed,  and 
cried  bitterly,  for  the  thing  was  in  no  state  to 
be  touched  until  it  had  been  washed.  It  was 
easy  to  imagine  how  it  had  happened.  The 
puppy,  who  was  growing  very  mischievous,  and 
who,  like  many  another  young  thing,  was  fond 
of  a  forbidden  plaything,  had  probably  found 
the  petticoat  lying  where  Lily  had  heedlessly 
dropped  it  upon  the  floor ;  and,  watching  his 
opportunity,  had  dragged  it  from  the  room, 
down  stairs,  and  out  into  the  back  area,  where 
Hannah  had  rescued  it,  happily  before  it  was 
torn  and  chewed  to  bits,  but  not  before  it  was 
sadly  blackened  and  soiled. 

"  Now  don't  you  cry,  honey  Miss  Lily,  and 
I'll  just  wash  it  right  out  for  you,  and  have  it 
back  as  clane  as  a  new  pin,"  said  the  good- 
natured  Hannah.  "  If  I'd  known  it  yesterday, 
sure  I'd  a  done  it  then ;  but  niver  a  wurd  did  I 
think  of  its  bein'  your  work,  and  it  in  that 
state.     Oeh,  what  a  crathur  it  is,  that  botherin' 


Lily  Norris. 


p.  174. 


Saturday  Morning's    Work.         175 

little  baste ! "  she  added,  as  she  went  off  with 
the  melancholy  looking  petticoat  in  her  hand. 

"  Will  she  have  it  washed  and  dried  and 
ironed  in  time  for  me  to  finish  it  before  the 
children  come,  mamma  ?  "  asked  the  sobbing 
Lily,  burying  her  head  in  her  mother's  lap. 

"  I  am  afraid  not,  dear,"  answered  her 
mother,  with  a  tender,  pitying  touch  upon  the 
thoughtless  little  head  which  brought  so  much 
trouble  upon  itself,  "  so  much  time  has  been 
lost  in  hunting  for  your  work,  and  it  is  now 
nearly  eleven  o'clock." 

"  If  I'd  only  gone  to  my  sewing  at  first  as 
you  advised  me,  then  I'd  have  found  out  sooner 
what  that  horrid  little  old  hateful  puppy  had 
done,  and  Hannah  might  have  washed  the  pet- 
ticoat for  me  in  time,"  moaned  Lily.  "  I  wish 
Tom  never  had  the  puppy'." 

"  I  do  not  think  we  must  blame  the  puppy, 
my  darling,"  said  her  mamma.  "  He  only 
acted  according  to  his  nature;  and  he  found 
the  skirt,  you  know,  where  it  should  not  have 
been." 


176  Lily  JVorris1  Enemy, 

"Yes,"  said  Lily,  "poor  little  cunning  fel- 
low ;  it  wasn't  his  fault.  It  was  all  horrid  old 
me,  with  my  putting  off  that  I  never  shall  cure 
myself  of ;  no,  never,  never.  It  is  too  mean 
that  I  cannot  finish  that  tiresome  petticoat  this 
morning." 

"  Happily,  dear,  the  consequences  of  your 
fault  are  not  yet  without  remedy,  and  you  may 
still  make  up  for  lost  time,  unless  something 
should  happen  which  we  do  not  foresee ;  but 
you  have  only  this  one  more  chance,  Lily.  Take 
care  that  you  do  not  neglect  it,  or  be  tempted 
to  procrastinate  again." 


CHAPTER  X. 


SATURDAY  AFTERNOON'S  PLAY. 


RS.  NORRIS  was  right ;  for  although 
Hannah  did  her  best,  she  found  it 
impossible  to  have  the  petticoat  dry 
enough  to  iron  so  that  Lily  might  have  some 
time  to  sew  upon  it  before  her  young  friends 
arrived. 

As  soon  as  she  had  at  all  recovered  her  spir- 
its, the  little  girl  relieved  her  mind  in  some 
degree  by  making  frequent  rushes  to  the  head 
of  the  back  stairs  to  see  if  Hannah  were  com- 
ing with  the  petticoat ;  and  once  she  persuaded 
her  mother  to  let  her  go  to  the  laundry  that  she 
might  "  be  encouraged  by  seeing  how  much 
Hannah  had  done." 

12 


ij8  Lily  JVbrrzs9  Enemy, 

But  she  did  not  receive  much  encourage- 
ment from  the  sight  of  the  still  dripping  gar- 
ment, which  Hannah  had  hung  before  the  fire 
that  it  might  dry  the  more  quickly.  Hannah 
took  a  cheerful  view  of  the  subject,  saying  she 
would  have  it  ready  very  soon,  and  there  was 
"  lots  of  time  afore  Tuesday  mornin'."  But 
Lily  was  at  last  learning  the  folly  of  believing 
in  "  lots  of  time  "  to  come  ;  and  she  shook  her 
head  in  a  melancholy  manner,  and  bade  Han- 
nah "  take  a  lesson  of  her  misfortunes,  and 
never  procrastinate." 

She  returned  to  the  nursery  in  a  very  low 
state  of  mind,  when  Nora  told  her  she  would 
dress  her  at  once  if  she  chose,  so  that  if  she 
had  any  time  to  spare  she  might  employ  it  on 
the  skirt  when  it  was  dry. 

Lily  gratefully  accepted  the  offer,  but  it 
proved  of  no  use  as  far  as  the  petticoat  was 
concerned,  for  she  had  bade  her  little  friends 
to  "  be  sure  and  come  by  twelve  o'clock,"  and 
her  mamma  having  seconded  the  invitation, 
they  had  been  allowed  to  do  so  ;  and  soon  after 


Saturday  Afternoon's  Play.        179 

twelve,  Maggie,  Bessie,  Belle,  and  Mabel  ar- 
rived, just  as  Hannah  brought  up  the  petticoat, 
fairly  smoking  from  her  hot  irons,  and  five 
minutes  after,  the  rest  of  the  young  party  made 
their  appearance. 

The  clouds  passed  from  Lily's  face  and  mind 
at  the  sight  of  all  these  "sunbeams,"  and, 
consoling  herself  with  the  recollection  that 
after  all  she  still  had  Monday  afternoon,  she 
was  presently  as  merry  and  full  of  spirits  as 
usual. 

Happily  not  one  of  the  other  children 
thought  of  asking  her  if  the  petticoat  were 
finished,  so  that  she  was  spared  the  mortifica- 
tion of  confessing  that  it  was  not. 

It  was  proposed  that  they  should  all  amuse 
themselves  downstairs  until  the  early  dinner, 
which  had  been  ordered  for  them  at  one 
o'clock ;  after  which  they  would  go  to  the 
grand  play-room  in  the  attic,  Maggie  having 
provided  herself  with  some  fresh  proverbs  and 
charades,  which  they  were  to  play. 

"  Harry   and  Fred   are    coming   over    this 


180  Lily  Nor r if  Enemy, 

afternoon,  and  wo  want  to  make  a  ship  in  the 
lumber-room.  You  won't  mind,  will  you  ? " 
asked  Torn,  who  was  taking  his  lunch  at  the 
little  girls'  dinner. 

Doubtful  looks  were  exchanged  between 
some  of  them.  Maggie's  looks  were  not  at  all 
doubtful ;  her  face  was  one  of  blank  dismay  at 
the  proposal.  Playing  charades  and  proverbs 
was  all  very  well  when  there  were  only  those 
of  her  own  age  to  look  on ;  doing  it  before 
these  big  boys  was  quite  another  thing. 

"  Not  if  you  don't  like  it,  Maggie,"  said 
Tom,  noticing  her  annoyance ;  "  but  we 
wouldn't  disturb  you,  and  anyhow  I  am  sure 
you  need  not  mind  having  us  see  you.  We'll 
be  busy  at  the  carpenter's  bench  and  tool- 
chest,  and  you  need  not  heed  us  if  we  do 
see." 

"  I'm  —  I'm  afraid  you'll  —  you'll  laugh  at 
us,"  hesitated  Maggie,  coloring. 

"  If  we  laugh,  it  will  be  with  you,  not  at 
you,"  said  Tom.  "  But  never  mind ;  if  you 
don't  like  it,  we'll  keep  out  of  your  way." 


Saturday  Afternoons  Play.         181 

Then  Maggie  felt  self-reproached,  and,  like 
the  generous  little  girl  she  was,  determined 
that  her  bashfulness  should  not  get  the  upper 
hand  of  her  readiness  to  oblige. 

"  I  don't  mind  it  so  very  much,"  she  said ; 
"  at  least  I'll  try  not  to,  and  you  can  come  if 
the  others  say  so.  I  suppose  you  won't  take 
notice  of  us  if  you  are  building  a  ship,  would 
you,  Tom  ?  "  she  added  wistfully. 

"  No  one  shall  disturb  or  trouble  you  in 
any  way,  you  may  believe  that,"  said  Tom ; 
and  Maggie  knew  that  he  would  keep  his  word, 
and  so  declared  her  willingness  that  the 
boys  should  share  the  privileges  of  the  lumber- 
room. 

Away  to  the  attic  scampered  the  seven  pairs 
of  little  feet  the  moment  dinner  was  over ;  and 
Nora,  following,  opened  the  trunks  for  them, 
then  left  them  to  their  own  devices.  That  is 
to  say,  she  brought  her  sewing,  and  went  to 
sit  in  one  of  the  rooms  which  opened  out  of  the 
great  gallery,  where  she  might  be  within  call 
if  the  children  needed  her,  and  at  hand   to 


1 82  Lily  JVorris*  Enemy, 

keep  them  from  mischief.  That  she  provided 
for  her  own  amusement  by  leaving  the  door  so 
that  she  could  see  and  hear,  none  of  them, 
not  even  shy  Maggie,  noticed  or  cared. 

Maggie  of  course  was  always  chief  spirit 
and  prime  manager  of  these  entertainments ; 
and  she  now  divided  the  party,  taking  Belle 
and  Nellie  with  herself  as  performers  in  the 
first  charade,  and  assigning  the  part  of  specta- 
tors to  Bessie,  Lily,  Carrie,  and  Mabel. 

The  audience  speedily  accommodated  them- 
selves and  their  children  —  that  is  their  dolls 
—  with  seats  upon  the  top  of  the  bins,  scram- 
bling thereto  by  the  help  of  chairs,  and  amus- 
ing themselves  with  lively  conversation  while 
waiting. 

Maggie  and  Nellie  brought  forth  from  the 
store-room  a  small  table  and  three  chairs, 
which  were  suitably  placed ;  Sir  Percy  was 
brought  from  his  place  of  repose  and  laid  upon 
the  floor  beside  them ;  after  which  the  young 
ladies  retired  again  into  privacy. 

"  The  charade  has  begun,  and  Sir  Percy  is  a 


Saturday  Afternoons  Play.        183 

great  big  dog  this  time,"  said  Maggie,  suddenly 
popping  out  her  head  once  more,  and  then 
withdrawing  it. 

After  some  moments  she  reappeared,  this 
time  gorgeously  arrayed  in  a  flowing  train, 
formed  of  an  old  red  table-cloth,  bordered 
with  gold,  a  wreath  of  artificial  flowers  on  her 
head,  ribbons  of  all  colors  pinned  and  tied 
about  her,  and  an  enormous  fan  in  her  hand, 
with  which  she  fanned  herself  affectedly, 
mincing  and  prinking  as  she  walked  to  a  chair, 
where  she  seated  herself,  taking  good  care  to 
keep  her  face  turned  from  Sir  Percy,  whom 
she  pretended  not  to  observe.  The  audience 
were  spell-bound  with  interest  and  the  wish 
to  guess  the  word. 

"  Tell  your  mistress  —  er — that  er — Madam 
Jones  —  er  —  is  here — er,"  drawled  the  lady, 
addressing  an  imaginary  servant,  closing  her 
eyes  as  if  quite  exhausted,  and  putting  on  all 
the  airs  and  graces  conceivable. 

Presently  entered  the  hostess,  attired  with 
similar  magnificence,  but  with   rather  a  bluff 


184  Lily  JVorris'  Enemy. 

and  off-hand  manner,  which  contrasted  very 
strikingly  with  that  of  her  visitor.  Mean- 
while, from  behind  the  door  of  the  store- 
room came  a  piteous  mewing,  which  soon 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  second  lady,  who 
peered  about  her  in  great  surprise,  and  ex- 
claimed, — 

"  That  must  be  a  cat  mewing,  and  I  never 
allow  a  cat  in  my  house,  never  !  " 

"  Oh  —  er,"  drawled  Mrs.  Jones,  "  it  is  only 
my  sweet  pussy,  my  lovely  pet,  my  only  donly 
pet;  such  a  dear  pet,  oh,  such  !  Wouldn't  you 
like  to  see  her,  Mrs.  Smith  ?  " 

"  No,  oh,  no  !  "  cries  Mrs.  Smith,  lifting  up 
her  hands  in  horror  ;  "  I  hate  cats,  and  so  does 
my  lovely  pet,  Bombastes  Furioso.  Here, 
Bomby,  Bomby,  Bomby,  come  and  speak  to 
Mrs.  Jones,  my  darling  pet." 

Upon  which  Mrs.  Jones  affected  to  see  for 
the  first  time  the  great  dog  Bombastes  Furioso, 
and  to  be  filled  with  alarm  at  the  sight. 

"  Don't  call  him,  pr-r-r-ay,  don't !  "  she  cried. 
"  Is  it  possible  that  you  like  canine  dogs,  Mrs. 


Saturday  Afternoon's  Play.        185 

Smith  ?  How  can  you  have  such  a  pet  ?  Here, 
kitty,  kitty,  kitty  !  " 

Hereupon  entered  Belle  on  all  fours,  cov- 
ered with  a  white  flossy  mat  which  had  been 
brought  up  from  the  hall  for  the  purpose,  and 
ran  mewing  about  her  mistress. 

"  I'd  rather  like  canine  dogs  than  canine 
cats,"  wrathf ully  cries  Mrs.  Smith  ;  "  and, 
ma'am,  I  tell  you  I  won't  have  cats  in  my 
house  !     S'cat,  s'cat,  s'cat !  " 

"  Ma'am,"  cries  Mrs.  Jones,  indignantly, 
"  if  you  turn  out  my  pet,  you  turn  out  me,  and 
I'll  never  visit  you  again,  ma'am,  nor  be  ac- 
quainted with  you  any  more.  I  cut  you,  ma'am, 
I  cut  you  !  " 

"  And  I  cut  you,  ma'am.  Bringing  cats  in 
my  house,  indeed !  Here,  Bombastes  Furioso, 
s-s-s-s ! "  and  the  indignant  and  inhospitable 
Mrs.  Smith  tried  to  urge  her  dog  to  seize  Mrs. 
Jones'  kitty.  Bombastes,  however,  being  a 
dog  of  a  lazy  turn  of  mind,  contented  himself 
with  deep,  hoarse  growls  whenever  Mrs.  Jones 
was   speaking.     He  was   silent  when   it  was 


1 86  Lily  Norris*  Enemy, 

necessary  for  his  mistress  to  speak ;  and  Mrs. 
Smith  found  herself  obliged  to  drag  her  lum- 
bering pet  onwards  by  his  two*  remaining  hoofs 
—  I  beg  his  pardon,  I  should  have  said  paws. 

This  was  the  sole  objection  to  the  accommo- 
dating Sir  Percy,  that  he  was  so  unwieldy  and 
cumbersome  to  move  when  circumstances  re- 
quired that  he  should  do  so.  This  being  the 
case,  Mrs.  Jones,  whose  airs  and  graces  were  ail 
put  to  flight  by  this  attack  upon  her,  had  time 
to  scuttle  off  with  her  pet  before  Bombastes 
Furioso  had  advanced  more  than  a  step  or  two. 

This  was  greeted  with  shouts  of  laughter,  in 
which  the  performers  themselves  joined  as  they 
disappeared ;  and  after  the  applause  had  sub- 
sided, the  four  heads  on  the  top  of  the  bins  set 
themselves  to  guess  the  word. 

"  I  think  it's  affected  lady,"  said  Carrie. 

"  I  don't.  I  think  it  is  cat  or  dog,"  said 
Lily.  "  You  know  this  is  only  the  first  sylla- 
ble, Carrie,  so  it  couldn't  be  affected  lady." 

"Oh,  to  be  sure,"  said  Carrie.  "  Bessie, 
what  do  you  think  it  is  ? " 


Saturday  Afternoon 's  Play.        187 

"  I  think  it  is  pet,"  said  Bessie.  "  Did  you 
not  hear  how  often  they  said  '  pet '  ?  '  Pet ' 
dog  and  '  pet'  cat?  " 

"  Yes,  so  they  did,"  said  Lily.  "  Bessie, 
you  are  right.     Oh,  isn't  it  fun  ?  " 

The  performers  were  not  long  in  making 
their  preparations  for  the  next  syllable;  and 
the  only  change  in  the  outward  arrangements 
was  that  various  bottles,  a  saw,  some  chisels, 
awls,  and  other  tools  were  brought  out,  and 
placed  upon  the  table. 

"  These  are  doctors'  instruments,"  Maggie 
explained  before  retiring. 

Presently  she  reappeared,  buttoned  up  in  an 
overcoat  which  reached  to  her  feet,  a  man's 
hat  coming  down  over  her  eyes,  a  cane  in  her 
hand,  and  bustled  round  among  the  bottles. 
From  this  occupation  the  doctor  was  roused 
by  a  knock  at  the  door,  and  there  entered  two 
other  overcoated  figures,  limping  and  groaning 
in  a  distressful  manner. 

"  We've  been  in  a  railroad  accident,  and  all 
our  bones  are  broken,  doctor,"  piped  one  of 
the  sufferers. 


r88  Lily  JSForris'  Enemy. 

The  unfeeling  surgeon  hustled  them  each 
into  a  chair,  and  with  great  roughness  pro 
ceeded  to  wrap  and  bandage,  tying  a  great 
many  knots  with  much  unnecessary  vigor,  ac- 
companied with  shrieks  and  groans  from  his 
patients. 

"  Ow — ow — ow,  doctor,"  cried  one  of  them, 
as  the  doctor  pulled  hard  upon  a  knot  in  the 
handkerchief  he  was  tying  on  a  broken  arm, 
"you  do  hurt  more  than  any  doctor  I  ever 
knew.     You  tie  so  hard." 

"  Well,"  growled  the  doctor,  "  when  you 
come  to  me  with  two  broken  arms,  and  two 
broken  legs,  and  a  broken  back,  and  your  eyes 
put  out,  and  your  head  smashed  up,  do  you 
expect  to  be  mended  without  being  hurt? 
Here,  let  me  tie  your  head." 

The  patients,  being  well  tied  up,  at  last  de- 
parted, followed  by  the  doctor ;  and  the  audi- 
ence unanimously  agreed  that  tie  was  'he 
second  syllable. 

"Pet  —  tie,"  said  Bessie.  "I  just  b'lieve 
it's  petticoat." 


Saturday  Afternoon's  Play.        189 

"  So  it  is,"  said  Carrie  ;  while  Lily,  recalled 
to  the  recollection  of  her  unfortunate  petticoat, 
was  struck  dumb  by  what  she  considered  a 
remarkable  coincidence. 

The  performance  of  the  third  syllable  was 
not  quite  as  interesting  as  the  other  two  had 
been,  the  coats  which  had  been  worn  by  the 
doctor  and  his  patients  being  brought  out  and 
beaten  with  sticks  with  a  great  bustle  and 
fuss,  but  without  a  single  spoken  word.  After 
this  it  scarcely  needed  the  performance  of 
the  whole  word  to  establish  the  fact  that  it 
was  petticoat ;  but,  the  chairs  and  table  being 
removed,  it  was  gone  through  with  by  three 
young  ladies,  very  much  dressed,  taking  a 
walk  on  a  muddy  day,  and  greatly  disturbed  for 
the  fate  of  their  petticoats,  as  they  splashed  and 
waded  through  imaginary  pools  and  puddles. 

"  Petticoat  !  Petticoat  !  Petticoat  !  "  re- 
sounded from  the  top  of  the  bins,  accompanied 
by  violent  clapping  and  stamping,  and  other 
tokens  of  the  pleasure  which  had  been  afforded 
by  the  representation. 


190  Lily  JVorris'  Enemy, 

And  now  the  audience  came  down  from  their 
perch,  and  resigned  it  to  the  late  performers, 
with  whom  they  were  to  change  parts;  at  least, 
Belle  and  Nellie  were  to  do  so,  for  Maggie 
was,  as  I  have  said,  the  moving  spirit,  and  all 
the  others  played  under  her  orders.  She  was 
the  most  ingenious  in  choosing  and  arrang- 
ing the  words,  and  it  was  believed  that  no 
charade  went  off  well  unless  she  took  part  in  it. 

This  arrangement  only  left  two  spectators, 
it  is  true ;  but  Maggie  said  she  needed  all  the 
others,  and  no  objection  was  made. 

The  chairs  and  table  were  now  brought  back 
to  their  old  places.  After  the  necessary  dress- 
ing up  had  been  done,  Bessie  appeared  with  a 
handkerchief  tied  over  her  sunny  curls,  a  white 
apron  coming  down  to  her  feet,  and  followed 
by  Carrie  as  a  servant,  bearing  dishes.  These 
—  a  doll's  dinner  set  —  were  arranged  upon 
the  table  with  much  noise  and  rattle,  the  little 
landlady  bustling  about,  and  calling  upon  her 
maid  to  make  haste. 

"  For  I  keep  a  very  good  inn,  servant,"  she 


Saturday  Afternoon's  Play,       191 

said ;  "  but  when  some  people  come  to  inns, 
they  make  a  great  fuss,  and  give  a  great  deal 
of  trouble ;  and  I  heard  of  a  gentleman  who  is 
coming  to  my  »,  and  he  is  very  cross,  and  a 
great  scolder,  so  I  don't  want  to  give  him  any 
reason  to  complain,  and  we  must  have  every 
thing  very  nice  in  my  inn" 

"  Yes,  ma'am,  we'll  have  the  inn  very  tine 
for  him,"  answered  the  maid. 

The  fears  of  the  landlady  were  not  un- 
founded, as  it  proved ;  for  presently  appeared 
Sir  Percy  in  the  character  of  a  cross  old  gen- 
tleman, supported  and  dragged  along  with 
much  difficulty  by  his  wife  and  daughters. 
He  was  attired  in  a  man's  hat  and  great-coat, 
the  sleeves  of  the  latter  coming  down  some 
distance  below  his  —  h'm  —  hands;  but  this 
was  a  convenience,  as  they  could  be  flapped 
about  in  wild  gesticulation,  as  he  stormed  and 
scolded  at  the  ^conveniences  of  the  inn.  A 
more  ill-tempered  old  gentleman  was  never 
seen ;  and  a  hard  time  did  his  attendants  have 
of  it.     He  laid  about  him  in  the  most  ferocious 


192  Lily  JVorris'  Enemy. 

manner,  and  was  not  to  be  pacified  by  all  the 
attentions  that  were  lavished  upon  him  ;  until 
the  little  landlady  declared  that  "  if  that  old 
gentleman  was  going  to  stay  a  great  while  in 
her  inn,  she  would  not  keep  an  inn  any 
longer." 

"  Inn,  inn,"  was  called,  not  only  from  the 
bins,  but  also  from  the  other  side  of  the  room, 
as  the  old  man  was  at  last  carried  away,  still 
growling,  and  wildly  slapping  the  air  with  his 
coat-cuffs. 

The  children  turned,  and  Sir  Percy  tumbled 
heavily  to  the  floor,  as  Maggie  loosened  her 
hold  of  him,  struck  dumb  by  the  sight  of  three 
pairs  of  eyes  peering  above  the  side  of  the 
staircase. 

"  Now,  that's  too  bad,"  cried  Lily.  "  You 
boys  can  just  go  'way.     You'll  laugh  at  us." 

"  Indeed,  we  won't,"  said  Tom.  "  We  came 
up  just  a  few  moments  ago,  and  we  thought 
we  wouldn't  interrupt  you  by  passing  through, 
but  wait  until  you  had  finished,  and  that  was 
capitally   done.     But   I'm   afraid  you'll  hurt 


Saturday  Afternoon 's  Play.        193 

yourselves  with  Sir  Percy.  He  is  too  heavy 
for  you  to  lug  about,  and  Maggie's  toes  barely 
escaped  just  now." 

"0  Tom!"  said  Lily;  " why,  half  the  fun 
would  be  spoiled  if  we  didn't  have  Sir  Percy." 

"  Well,  be  careful  then,"  said  Tom,  as  he 
passed  on  with  Harry  into  the  store-room. 

But  Fred  lingered. 

"  I  say,  Midge,"  he  said,  "  let  a  fellow  stay 
and  see  the  rest  of  your  charade,  will  you  ?  It's 

jolly." 

Maggie  looked  blank,  but  all  she  said  was, 
44  0    Fred!" 

"  No,  you  can't,"  said  Lily,  unmindful  of  the 
duties  of  hospitality  in  her  own  attic;  "  you 
just  can't,  'cause  you'll  laugh,  and  make  fun 
of  us." 

"  Now  come  on,  Fred,  and  let  them  alone," 
called  Tom  from  within  the  room.  "  I  prom- 
ised them  they  should  not  be  teased  if  we  came 
up  here." 

"  I'm  not  going  to  tease  them,"  said  Fred. 
"  I  want  to  see  the  charade,  really  and  truly. 

13 


194  Lily  JVorriV  Enemy, 

The  little  chaps  do  it  first-rate,  and  I  like  it. 
Let  me  stay,  girls." 

Maggie  and  Bessie,  especially  the  latter,  had 
strong  objections  to  being  called  "  chaps,-"  but 
Fred  never  could  remember  that.  However, 
they  passed  it  by ;  and  Fred  won  a  rather 
reluctant  consent  to  his  remaining  as  a  spec- 
tator. He  was  put  upon  his  good  behavior, 
and  with  a  run  and  a  jump  speedily  landed 
himself  beside  Belle  and  Carrie,  where  he 
kept  his  word,  and  conducted  himself  as  a 
well-behaved  spectator  should  do. 

The  next  syllable  presented  a  lady  writing, 
her  maid  sewing.  In  rushes  a  gardener,  tree 
in  hand,  represented  by  a  large  feather  dust- 
brush  ;  and  with  much  Irish  brogue  and  great 
excitement,  accuses  the  lady's  son  of  cutting 
down  a  young  peach-tree.  Son  denies,  and  is 
believed  by  his  mother,  who  sternly  tells  the 
gardener  that  her  son  has  never  told  a  lie,  and 
whatever  he  says  is  "  true,  true,  true" 

Gardener  declares  that  "  indade,  an'  he  is 
thrue,  an'  if  the  missis  will  but  make  Mastei 


Saturday  Afternoon's  Play.         195 

George  Washington  hould  up  the  hand  that's 
behint  him,  she'll  see  the  hatchet  he  did  it 
with." 

Mother  demands  the  hatchet,  son  rebels, 
still  keeping  his  hand  behind  him,  but  mother, 
chasing  round  and  round,  presently  discovers 
it ;  whereupon  she  clasps  her  hands  frantically, 
cries  she  thought  he  was  true,  falls  fainting  to 
the  ground,  and  is  carried  off  by  son,  gardener, 
and  maid. 

This  new  version  of  an  old  and  familiar 
story  was  received  with  tremendous  applause, 
to  which  Fred's  boots  added  not  a  little. 

Next  appeared  Sir  Percy  once  more,  this 
time  without  any  outward  adornments.  He 
was  laid  upon  the  floor,  and  in  his  mouth  was 
thrust  a  pointed  stick,  bearing  a  paper,  on 
which  was  written  in  Maggie's  largest,  round- 
est hand,  these  words :  — 

"  This  is  a  disagreeable  smelling  dead  cat." 

About  and  around  the  dead  cat  walked  five 
young  ladies,  uttering  exclamations  of  disgust, 
wondering  where  the  smell  could  come  from, 


196  Lily  JVorris*  Enemy. 

but  strangely  blind  to  the  offensive  animal 
which  lay  before  them. 

"  Ow  !  how  horrid  !  "  cried  one. 

"  Ugh  !  disgusting !  "  exclaimed  another. 

"  What  an*  awful  smell  1 "  said  the  third. 

"  Ugh  !  it's  that  dead  cat !  "  said  the  fourth. 
"  Let's  shun  it,  let's  shun  it !  " 

And  with  loud  cries  of  "  Shun  it,  shun 
it,"  the  five  young  ladies  scamper  into  the 
store-room,  from  which  the  sound  of  smothered 
laughter  had  now  and  then  mingled  with  the 
public  applause  without. 

It  was  not  difficult  now  to  guess  the  word ; 
nevertheless  the  whole  charade  must  be  played 
out  before  it  was  even  hinted  at  to  the  per- 
formers. 

"  In-tru-sion,"  was  carried  out  by  two  of  the 
aforesaid  young  ladies,  who  rang  violently  at 
a  front-door  bell,  and  were  denied  admittance 
by  a  dainty,  little  sunny-haired  maid,  who 
declared  that  her  mistress  was  very  much 
engaged. 

The  visitors  persisted  in  their  desire  to  see 


Saturday  Afternoon's  Play.        197 

her,  and  forced  their  way  in,  to  be  fiercely 
attacked  by  the  indignant  lady  of  the  mansion, 
who  was  engaged  with  her  lover,  Sir  Percy, 
and  who  sternly  demanded,  "  Whence  this 
intrusion?" 

"  No  intrusion  at  all,  ma'am,"  says  one  of 
the  visitors. 

"  Yes,  intrusion,  ma'am,"  replies  the  host- 
ess ;  and  contradiction  followed  free  and 
fast,  until  stopped  by  the  shouts  of "  Intru- 
sion !  Intrusion !  "  from  the  reserved  seats. 


XL 

A   SAD  ACCIDENT. 


y  i 


HAT'S  capital  !  '?  exclamed  Fred. 
"  Give  us  another,  Midge,  will 
you?" 

Fred  had  conducted  himself  with  such  be- 
coming propriety,  and  his  applause  had  been 
so  hearty,  that  Maggie  felt  not  only  quite 
reconciled  to  his  presence,  but  also  ready  to 
indulge  him;  and  she  answered, — 

"  Yes,  I  have  one  more,  and  it  is  to  be  in- 
structive as  well  as  amusing,  Fred,  because  it 
is  an  historical  charade." 

"  Go  ahead  !  "  said  Fred,  scrambling  back 
into  his  seat,  which  he  had  left  to  help  carry 
Sir  Percv  into  retirement. 


A  Sad  Accident.  199 

The  preparations  for  the  first  syllable  of  the 
Listorical  charade  were  very  imposing.  Two 
chairs  were  placed  face  to  face ;  upon  these 
was  mounted  the  table,  turned  upside  down, 
with  its  legs  in  the  air ;  to  one  of  the  legs  was 
tied  a  large  feather  dust-brush,  —  the  whole 
arrangement  supposed  to  represent  an  oak- 
tree,  as  Maggie  explained. 

Maggie,  Nellie,  Lily,  and  Belle  were  the  per- 
formers 011  this  occasion  ;  and  in  due  time 
they  all  entered,  escorting  Sir  Percy,  now  in 
the  character  of  King  Charles,  in  full  kingly 
costume,  the  red  table-cloth  doing  duty  for  his 
robes,  and  a  crown,  a  "  real  crown  "  of  tinsel 
paper  adorning  his  majesty's  brows.  He  was 
held  with  some  difficulty  upon  his  horse, — 
another  chair  turned  down  for  the  purpose, — 
and  again  Tom's  warning  voice  came  from  the 
store-room. 

"  You'd  better  look  out  with  that  old  hobby. 
You'll  hurt  yourselves  some  time,  lugging  him 
about  that  fashion." 

But  the  suggestion  was  treated  with  disdain. 


200  Lily  JVorrzY  Eneniy. 

An  old  hobby  indeed  !  King  Charles  an  "  old 
hobby  "  ! 

The  horse  —  that  is,  the  chair  horse  — 
paused  beneath  the  tree,  and  then,  relieved  of 
his  burden,  galloped  off,  led  by  Belle  ;  while  the 
other  three  prepared  to  hoist  his  cumbersome 
majesty  into  the  tree,  he  not  being  agile 
enough  to  perform  that  office  for  himself. 

Maggie  had  proposed  that  two  of  the  chil- 
dren should  be  his  enemies  in  pursuit ;  but  no 
one  was  willing  to  take  that  character. 
Staunch  little  royalists  they  were,  every  one, 
and  not  to  be  reckoned  among  the  persecutors  of 
the  unfortunate  king.  So  this  little  diversion 
from  the  true  historical  facts  had  been  per- 
mitted to  suit  the  occasion,  all  the  more  readily 
as  it  was  feared  that  it  would  take  the  united 
strength  of  the  whole  four  to  raise  him  to  the 
necessary  height.  Still  Maggie  had  not  been 
quite  satisfied  with  such  a  very  great  departure 
from  reality  ;  and,  hearing  the  difficulty  as  they 
worked  at  the  carpenter's  bench,  Tom  and 
Harry  had  good-naturedly  offered  to  take  upon 


A  Sad  Accident.  201 

themselves  the  obnoxious  part  of  the  king's 
enemies,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  safely  hidden 
in  the  tree  to  rush  forth  in  search  of  him,  and 
feign  total  unconsciousness  as  they  passed  be- 
neath his  place  of  shelter. 

This  being  settled,  and  Belle,  having  dis- 
posed of  her  horse,  and  returned  to  give  a 
hand  to  the  lifting  process,  the  royal  fugitive 
was,  by  the  united  exertions  of  his  four  de- 
voted adherents,  raised  to  his  hiding-place. 
But  he  proved  too  heavy  for  the  slight  con- 
struction ;  and  feather  duster,  chair,  and 
table  toppled  over  together,  carrying  King 
Charles  with  them. 

Maggie  and  Lily  held  fast,  one  on  eithei 
side,  but  the  other  two  had  left  their  hold. 
Fred,  seeing  the  danger,  sprang  like  a  shot 
from  his  seat,  and  his  hand  but  just  touched 
the  old  hobby-horse  as  it  rolled  over,  not  soon 
enough  to  prevent  its  fall,  but  in  time  to  turn 
the  heavy  thing  a  little  aside.  It  fell,  carry- 
ing Lily  back  with  it ;  and  the  two  came 
together  to  the  floor,  jarring  the  whole  house* 


202  Lily  J\ orris9  Enemy, 

Tom  and  Harry  rushed  out,  not,  alas !  in  the 
play  in  which  they  had  offered  to  join,  but  in 
sad  and  alarmed  earnest ;  and  Nora  flew  from 
her  work. 

Tom  had  Lily  in  his  arms  in  an  instant,  but 
the  poor  little  girl  was  a  sorry  sight.  Sir 
Percy's  head  had  struck  against  hers  as  they 
fell  together,  aiid  blood  was  already  streaming 
from  an  ugly  wound  just  above  her  temple. 
But  for  Fred's  timely  touch,  which  turned  the 
weight  of  the  hobby-horse  a  little  to  one  side, 
the  child's  head  must  have  been  crushed,  and 
she  killed. 

Oh,  was  not  Maggie  thankful  that  she  had 
allowed  her  good-nature  to  triumph  over  her 
fear  of  being  laughed  at,  and  had  consented 
to  let  Fred  join  in  their  fun ! 

Ah !  the  fun  and  frolic  were  changed  now,  — 
changed  to  distress  and  alarm.  Lily  lay  half 
stunned,  gasping  and  death-like,  while  the  cries 
and  shrieks  of  the  other  children  rang  through 
the  house,  and  speedily  brought  her  mother  to 
the  spot. 


A  Sad  Accident.  203 

It  was  indeed  a  sad  ending  to  the  merry  after- 
noon, and  for  a  few  moments  the  children  could 
scarcely  believe  that  Lily  was  not  killed,  or  at 
least  dying,  so  white  and  quiet  did  she  lie. 
Never  did  piteous  cry  carry  more  relief  to  a 
mother's  heart  than  that  which  at  last  broke 
from  the  pale,  trembling  lips  ;  for  Mrs.  Norris 
too  had  feared  that  her  darling  was  danger- 
ously, if  not  fatally  injured.  It  must  have 
been  so  indeed  but  for  the  care  of  the  kind 
Father  who  had  watched  over  her,  and  sent 
Fred's  timely  help  to  turn  aside  a  portion  of 
the  threatening  danger. 

"  Go  for  the  doctor,"  said  Mrs.  Norris. 

But  Fred,  with  a  though tfulness  which  he 
sometimes  showed,  had  already  asked  Tom  if 
he  should  not  do  this,  and  had  started  off 
with  his  direction. 

The  grass  never  grew  beneath  Fred's 
nimble  feet  at  any  time ;  and  now,  when  he 
believed  there  was  need  for  speed,  he  almost  flew 
over  the  ground,  and,  happily  finding  the  doctor 
at  home,  brought  him  back  with  him  at  once. 


204  Lily  JVbrrzV  Enemy. 

Lily  had  been  carried  downstairs  and  laid 
upon  her  little  bed,  where  her  mother  was 
doing  for  her  all  that  she  could,  though  that 
was  not  much,  until  the  doctor  came. 

A  group  of  frightened  and  distressed  little 
faces  met  the  good  old  physician's  eye  as  he 
passed  through  the  hall.  He  spoke  a  few 
cheering  words  as  he  went  by,  but  as  he  did 
not  yet  know  how  much  Lily  was  hurt,  he  did 
not  put  much  heart  into  his  young  hearers. 
Still  it  was  a  comfort  tp  know  that  he  had 
come,  and  it  always  did  one  good  to  see  Dr. 
Banks'  kind,  helpful  face. 

Before  the  doctor  arrived,  Lily  had  opened 
her  eyes,  and  smiled  at  her  mother  with  a 
bewildered  look  ;  but  when  she  saw  the  blood 
which  was  streaming  from  the  wound  in  her 
head,  she  was  frightened,  and  began  to  cry 
again. 

But  the  dear  old  doctor  soon  quieted  her 
fears,  and  those  of  her  anxious  mother ;  and 
the  good  news  presently  spread  through  the 
house  that  he  did  not  think  her  dangerously 


A  Sad  Accident.  205 

hurt.  There  was  a  deep,  ugly  cut  on  her  head 
just  above  the  temple,  it  was  true,  and  her 
eye  was  already  swelling  and  blackening ;  but 
he  had  no  fears  that  her  injuries  were  serious, 
and  with  some  care  and  quiet  she  would  soon 
be  well  again. 

Bat  Lily  had  had  a  very  merciful  escape, 
and  Maggie  could  not  be  sufficiently  glad  and 
thankful  that  she  had  been  kind  and  obliging, 
and  allowed  Fred  "  to  come  to  the  charades,  " 
when  she  heard  every  one  saying  that  but  for 
the  thrust  from  his  hand  which  had  turned 
aside  the  weight  of  the  old  hobby-horse,  the 
heavy  thing  must  have  crushed  the  dear  little 
head  of  her  young  playmate. 

"  It  was  quite  a  mountain  of  mercy  out  of  a 
mole-hill  of  kindness,"  quaintly  said  clear  Mag- 
gie, as  she  wiped  from  her  eyes  the  tears  of 
joy  and  gratitude. 

Hearing  that  Lily  must  be  kept  quiet,  the 
thoughtful  Harry  carried  away  his  sisters,  and 
all  the  other  little  visitors,  as  soon  as  they  were 
assured  that  there  was  no  cause  for   alarm. 


206  Lily  JVorris9  Enemy. 

and  saw  them  all  safely  to  their  separate 
homes. 

Lily  lay  patient  and  gentle  under  the  doctor's 
handling,  as  he  felt  the  poor  little  bruised  head, 
and  tenderly  cut  away  the  hair  from  the  wound, 
and  bound  it  up ;  but  every  now  and  then  she 
put  up  her  hand,  with  a  piteous,  anxious  expres- 
sion, to  the  eye  which  was  swelling  and  closing 
so  fast. 

"  Does  it  pain  you  so,  darling  ?  "  her  mother 
would  ask. 

"  Not  so  very  much,  mamma,"  she  would 
answer,  "but"  —  and  here  her  words  always 
came  to  an  end. 

But  when  the  doctor  was  through,  and  the 
aching  head  laid  carefully  on  a  soft  pillow,  the 
trouble'that  was  weighing  on  her  mind  broke 
forth. 

"  Doctor,"  she  asked  wistfully,  "  is  my  eye 
going  out  ?  " 

"Going  out?  No,  indeed,"  answered  the 
doctor,  cheerily.  "  I  rather  think  it  is  going 
in,  my  Lily-bud.     It  is  shutting  up  pretty  tight 


A  Sad  Accident.  207 

now,  it  is  true ;  but  we'll  take  the  swelling 
down  in  a  day  or  two,  and  it  will  soon  be  as 
useful  and  bright  as  ever." 

"  By  Monday,  Doctor  ? "  questioned  Lily, 
anxiously. 

"  Ho,  no,  indeed,  my  little  woman  !  You  will 
not  have  much  use  of  this  peeper  for  a  week  or 
ten  clays  to  come.  Even  if  you  could  see  out 
of  it,  you  must  keep  quite  quiet,  lie  here  on  the 
bed  or  on  the  sofa,  and  be  petted  and  nursed 
for  a  few  days,  or  this  little  head  may  give 
you  some  trouble." 

Lily  looked  as  if  something  was  giving  her 
a  good  deal  of  trouble  now ;  for  as  the  doctor 
spoke,  her  face  grew  longer  and  longer,  and 
now  she  burst  into  tears  again,  as  she  sobbed 
out, — 

"  My  petticoat !  0  mamma,  my  orphan 
petticoat ! " 

"  Hallo  !  "  said  the  doctor,  "  what  is  that,  I 
should  like  to  know  ?  I  have  heard  of  a  good 
many  kinds  of  petticoats,  but  I  never  heard  of 
an  orphan  petticoat  before.     But  this  will  not 


208  Lily  JVorn's9  Enemy, 

do,  rny  child.  You  must  lie  down  and  keep 
quiet." 

"  Do  not  trouble  yourself  about  the  petticoat 
now,  darling,"  said  her  mother,  gently  lay- 
ing her  back  upon  the  pillow,  from  which  she 
had  started  up  in  her  distress,  "  I  will  arrange 
that." 

"  But,  mamma,"  said  Lily,  piteously,  "  you 
know  you  said  —  you  said  that  you  could  not 
let  Nora  finish  it  for  me,  and — and  —  oh,  dear! 
—  you  couldn't  break  your  word,  you  know, 
and  my  orphan  child  won't  have  any  petticoat, 
and  it  was  all  my  old  Pro,  and  so  what  can  I 
do  ?  Oh,  if  I  only  didn't  have  Pro  !  I  b'lieve 
he's  my  worst  enemy." 

"  What  is  all  this  about  petticoats  and  pro's, 
Mrs.  Norris  ? "  said  the  doctor.  "  Put  her 
mind  at  rest  if  you  can,  or  we  shall  be  having 
headache  and  fever." 

"  Lily,  darling,"  said  her  mother,  "you  must 
set  your  mind  at  rest  about  the  petticoat.  You 
certainly  cannot  finish  it  now ;  but  I  shall  not 
let  the  little  orphan  suffer.     By  and  by  I  will 


A  Sad  Accident.  209 

see  what  is  best  to  do,  but  now  you  must  talk 
and  think  no  more  about  it.  Mamma  will 
arrange  it  all  for  you,  and  you  will  make  your- 
self worse  if  you  fret." 

"  Dear  mamma,"  said  Lily,  "  I  should  think 
you  would  want  to  arrange  not  to  have  such  a 
bothering  little  thing  as  me  for  your  own  little 
girl;  only  I  don't  s'pose  you  do.  I  b'lieve 
mammas  generally  don't." 

"  Hush,  hush,  my  darling,"  said  her  mother, 
whose  own  heart  was  swelling  with  gratitude 
that  a  Higher  Hand  had  "  arranged  "  that  her 
dear  "  little  bothering  thing,"  as  Lily  called 
herself,  was  not  to  be  taken  from  her,  but  that 
she  was  still  spared  to  be  the  joy  of  all  who 
loved  her,  the  "  sunbeam"  of  the  home  that 
would  have  seemed  so  dark  without  her. 

Lily  obeyed  the  soothing  touch  of  her  moth- 
er's hand,  and,  confident  that  she  would  find 
some  way  to  help  her  out  of  her  trouble,  said 
no  more  of  the  unfinished  task.  But  it  was 
upon  her  mind  for  all  that,  as  was  proved 
when  the  evening  wore  away,  and  the  fever 
U 


210  Lily  Nor r is*  Enemy. 

and  light-headedness  the  doctor  had  feared 
came  on.  A  very  slight  illness  was  enough  to 
make  Lily  light-headed,  and  the  blow  she  had 
received  was  by  no  means  a  slight  one.  So  it 
was  not  strange  that  it  should  have  that  effect. 
And  she  talked  pretty  wildly  about  petticoats 
and  puppies,  work-boxes  and  rocking-horses, 
and  had  many  bitter  words  for  her  enemy  Pro ; 
and  all  her  mother  could  say  would  not  soothe 
her. 

But  at  last  she  grew  more  quiet,  and  the 
poor  little  bruised  head  ceased  to  wander,  and 
she  fell  asleep ;  and  when  she  awoke  in  the 
morning,  her  mind  was  as  bright  and  clear  as 
ever. 

But  her  face  was  sadly  disfigured,  and  one 
eye  was  quite  closed  up,  so  that  it  was  plainly 
to  be  seen  that  Lily  would  not  have  much  use 
of  it  for  some  days  to  come.  All  this  would 
pass  away  in  time,  however  ;  swelling  and  dis- 
coloration would  disappear  by  and  by ;  and, 
happily,  the  cut  upon  her  head  came  where 
the  scar  would  be  hidden  by  her  hah'. 


A  Sad  Accident.  211 

Somewhat  to  Mrs.  Norris'  surprise,  My  said 
no  word  of  the  petticoat  all  the  next  day  ;  but 
she  was  very  glad  that  it  was  so,  and  took 
pains  to  avoid  any  thing  that  might  turn  her 
thoughts  that  way.  Lily  did  think  of  it,  how- 
ever, although  she  said  nothing ;  and  she 
could  not  but  wonder  now  and  then  how 
her  mother  would  contrive  to  help  her  without 
breaking  her  word.  But  she  felt  languid  and 
ill,  and  it  was  a  trouble  to  talk,  so  she  let  it  go 
for  the  present,  believing  as  usual  that  it 
would  come  right  somehow. 

But  on  Monday  morning,  when  Nora  was 
dressing  her,  the  nurse  said,  — 

"  Miss  Lily,  darling,  I  am  just  going  to  ask 
your  mamma  to  let  me  finish  your  petticoat  for 
you.  I  think  she'll  excuse  you  this  once,  since 
you  cannot  do  it  for  yourself." 

"  No,"  said  Lily  earnestly,  "  you  must  not 
ask  mamma,  Nora,  'cause  it  would  only  give 
her  the  uncomfortableness  of  saying  no.  She 
told  me  she  would  not  let  the  little  orphan 
suffer  for  my  fault,  and  she  will  find  a  way  to 


212  Lily  JYorris'  Enemy. 

make  it  right,  though  I  don't  know  what  it  is, 
and  I  am  too  ashamed  to  ask  her.  But  you 
know  she  said  very  surely  and  pos-i-tive-ly, 
Nora,  that  she  would  not  let  you  finish  it, 
if  it  was  not  done  through  my  putting  off; 
and  that  was  the  reason  it  was  not  done  on 
Saturday  morning,  as  it  ought  to  have  been. 
I  know  I  cannot  do  it  now  myself,  but  I 
could  have  done  it  before ;  and  mamma  can 
not  break  her  word." 

Lily  concluded  with  a  sigh,  for  she  really 
did  not  know  what  plan  her  mother  could  have 
for  helping  her,  and  she  was  very  anxious, 
though,  as  she  said,  too  much  ashamed  to  ask 
any  more. 

But  it  so  happened  that  Mrs.  Norris  over- 
heard this  conversation,  and  she  was  thankful 
to  find  how  strong  in  her  Lily  was  that  sense 
of  truth  which  would  not  allow  her  to  believe 
for  one  moment  that  mamma  could  go  back 
from  her  word  under  any  circumstances.  It 
was  rather  remarkable  that  with  all  her  heed- 
lessness and  volatile  spirits,  Lily  was  so  strictly 


A  Sad  Accident.  213 

truthful  and  upright,  for  they  never  betrayed 
her  into  an  equivocation,  as  carelessness  and 
want  of  thought  are  too  apt  to  do. 

The  morning  was  not  far  gone  before  Lily's 
mind  was  set  at  rest  on  the  subject  of  her 
petticoat,  for  her  mamma  came  to  sit  beside 
her,  and  brought  her  work  with  her. 

And  what  was  her  work  ? 

Lily  noticed  it  in  a  moment ;  a  petticoat  for 
a  child,  —  not  of  such  muslin  as  her  own  skirts, 
but  coarser  and  stronger,  just  such  as  her 
"  orphan  petticoat "  was  made  of. 

"  Mamma  ?  "  she  said,  with  her  eyes  fixed 
upon  the  strips  of  muslin  in  her  mother's  hand. 

"Yes,  dear,"  said  her  mother,  "  you  know  I 
said  the  little  orphan  must  not  suffer  through 
you,  and  I  told  you  Nora  could  not  finish  your 
petticoat,  and  send  it  as  your  work,  if  you  did 
not  do  it  yourself ;  so  I  shall  make  this  one,  and 
send  it  to  Miss  Ashton  in  the  place  of  the  other." 

"  And  tell  Miss  Ashton,  mamma  ?  " 

"  Well,  yes,  dear,  I  must.  Do  you  not  think 
so  ? " 


214  Lily  JVbrrz's3  Enemy. 

"  Yes,  mamma,  and  I  s'pose  the  girls  must 
know.  Even  if  she  don't  tell  them,  I  think  I 
ought  to  when  I  go  back  to  school.  They 
ought  not  to  think  I  was  industrious  and  good 
like  the  rest  when  I  just  put  off  and  put  off 
until  this  sad  accident  came,  and  then  I  really 
couldn't  do  it ; "  and  here  a  great  tear  rolled 
down  Lily's  cheek. 

"  My  darling,"  said  her  mother,  dropping 
her  work,  and  bending  over  to  kiss  the  sor- 
rowful little  face,  "  mamma  cannot  bear  to  see 
you  mortified  and  grieved,  but  she  does  want 
this  to  be  a  lesson  to  you,  and  to  save  you 
from  future  trouble  and  loss." 

"  Yes,  mamma,  I  know,"  answered  Lily, 
"  and  it  serves  me  quite  right ;  but  it  does 
make  me  feel  very  badly  to  know  that  all  the 
other  children  can  feel  that  the  little  orphans 
are  having  some  good  of  their  kindness,  and 
they  do  not  have  one  bit  of  mine." 

Mrs.  Norris  hesitated  before  she  spoke  again. 
She  felt  as  if  she  could  not  bear  to  have  her 
poor  child  so  hardly  punished  now  when  she 


A  Sad  Accident.  215 

was  suffering,  and  had  just  escaped  such  a 
great  danger.  She  could  not  let  Nora  finish 
the  petticoat,  but  why  not  finish  it  herself,  she 
thought,  as  well  as  make  another,  and  send  it 
to  Miss  Ashton  with  a  message  from  Lily  that 
she  had  not  done  the  whole  of  it  herself  ? 

Just  then  came  a  knock  at  the  door,  and, 
being  bidden  to  enter,  Robert  brought  a  note 
for  Miss  Lily,  saying  the  messenger  waited 
for  an  answer. 

"  It  is  Maggie's  writing,  I  think,"  said  Mrs. 
Nor  r  is. 

Lily  raised  herself,  and  held  out  her  hand. 

"  You  cannot  read  it  for  yourself,  dear. 
Shall  I  do  it  ?  "  asked  her  mother. 

Lily  assented,  and,  opening  the  note,  Mrs. 
Norris  read  as  follows  :  — 

"  Dear  Lily,  —  We  are  so  sorry  for  you,  all 
of#us,  but  we  are  so  very  happy  you  were  not 
killed  by  Sir  Percy  Hotspur,  who  is  very  nice 
to  play  with,  but  not  nice  to  fall  underneath, 
and  we  are  glad  you  are  not  such  a  victim  as 


216  Lily  Nor r if  Enemy. 

that.  But,  Lily,  dear,  we  do  not  know,  Bessie 
and  I,  if  you  have  finished  your  petticoat  for  the 
orphan  child.  We  did  not  ask  you  on  Satur- 
day because  we  thought  if  it  was  not  done  you 
wouldn't  like  to  say  so,  but  we  thought 
perhaps  the  reason  you  did  not  speak  about  it 
was  because  a  'burnt  child  dreads  the  fire,' 
which  means  people  don't  like  things  that 
bring  them  into  trouble,  or  to  speak  about 
them.  So  we  thought  it  was  quite  probable 
that  it  was  not  done,  and  we  know  you  cannot 
finish  it  now,  for  yesterday  we  met  Dr.  Banks 
when  we  were  coming  from  church,  and  he 
said  you  could  not  go  to  school,  or  use  your 
poor  hurt  eye  for  a  good  many  days.  So,  dear, 
if  you  would  let  me  finish  it  for  you,  I  would 
be  very  glad,  and  Bessie  will  too,  and  you  can 
send  it  to  me  by  Patrick.  And  you  need  not 
think  I  will  have  to  do  it  all  in  my  play-time, 
for  mamma  says  I  can  do  it  in  my  sewifcg- 
lesson  to-day,  which  is  half  an  hour,  and  if 
there  is  any  more,  I'd  just  as  lieve  do  it  after- 
wards, and  the  heart  which  would  not  do  that 


A  Sad  Accident.  217 

is  not  worthy  of  a  friend,  but  ought  to  be  like 
a  man  we  read  about  the  other  day  who  lived  in 
a  tub  and  was  cross  to  everybody.  And  do  you 
believe,  people  called  him  a  wise  man  ! !  ! 
Which  shows  they  must  have  been  very  stupid 
people  in  those  days  to  call  such  an  old  cross- 
patch  wise,  and  I'm  glad  I  was  never  acquainted 
with  him  for  I  would  not  consider  him  fit  to 
know. 

"  So  ask  your  mamma  to  send  me  the  petticoat 
if  it  is  not  done,  that  my  true  friendship  may 
have  the  pleasure  of  finishing  it.  From  your 
esteemed  friend, 

"Maggie  Stanton  Bradford. 
"  P.  S.     If  a  pretty  bad  button-hole  would  be 
any  relief  to  your  feelings  instead  of  strings,  I 
would  just  as  lieve  make  one,  but  it  don't  look 
very  nice." 

%p  have  seen  Lily's  eyes  —  or  rather  her  eye, 
for  you  know  there  was  only  one  to  be  seen  — 
as  her  mother  finished  reading  this  letter  to 
her!  to  have  seen  the  pleading  of  her  poor 
little  face ! 


218  Lily  JVbrrzs9  Enemy. 

"  Well,  dear,"  said  her  mother,  smiling  hack 
in  answer  to  the  unspoken  question  that  was 
written  in  every  line  of  her  Lily's  countenance. 
"Well,  dear,  shall  we  accept  Maggie's  offer?  " 

"  Oh,  mamma  !  if  you  think  I  might,"  cried 
Lily. 

"  Yes,"  said  her  mother,  "  since  dear  Maggie 
is  so  good  as  to  offer,  and  give  up  her  time  to 
you,  perhaps  I  will  let  you  accept.  But,  my 
darling,  I  do  not  want  you  to  forget  that  here 
again  the  consequences  of  your  habit  of  pro 
crastinating  are  falling  on  another.  Maggie  is 
doing  the  work  which  should  have  been  done 
by  you,  and  although,  I  am  sure  she  does  it 
willingly,  and  with  all  her  heart,  dear  little 
friend  that  she  is,  still  you  must  own  that  it 
is  hard  she  should  have  her  own  share,  and 
part  of  yours  too." 

"  Yes,  mamma,"  answered  Lily,  penitently, 
"  and  I  know  I  don't  deserve  to  have  any*of 
the  work  I  have  done  go  to  the  orphan  that  has 
no  father  or  mother,  and  I  am  very  thankful 
to   darling   Maggie.     And,   mamma,   I   think 


A  Sad  Accident.  219 

I  ought  to  ask  you  to  write  a  note  to  Miss 
Ashton,  and  let  her  tell  the  other  children  that 
I  did  not  do  the  whole  of  the  petticoat,  or  it 
would  not  be  quite  fair.  'Specially,  mamma, 
'cause  some  of  them  said  I  wouldn't  have  my 
petticoat  done,  and  I  scorned  what  they  said, 
and  was  very  sure  of  myself.  So  it  would  be 
more  true,  I  think,  to  tell  them  how  it  was." 

"  Yes,  darling,"  said  her  mother,  glad  that 
her  little  girl  was  so  truthful,  and  unwilling 
to  take  any  credit  that  was  not  rightly  her 
own  ;  and  then  she  kissed  her,  and,  bringing 
the  unfortunate  petticoat,  rolled  it  up,  and 
sent  it  away  to  the  dear  little  sunbeam  who 
was  so  ready  to  shed  light  and  comfort 
wherever  she  had  the  power  to  do  so. 


XII. 

LILTS  NEW  RESOLVE. 

I|||^|||HE~RE  was  a  good  deal  of  bustle  and 
IPf  111  excitement,  as  you  may  imagine,  on 
—  Tuesday  morning,  when  Miss  Ashton's 
little  scholars  came,  each  with  her  respective 
parcel. 

Poor  Lily  of  course  was  not  there ;  it 
would  be  many  a  day  yet  before  she  was  able 
to  come  to  school,  but  all  the  others  were  in 
their  places,  and  very  anxious  for  the  lessons 
to  be  over.  Nor  were  Maggie  and  Bessie 
there  during  school-hours ;  but  they  were  to 
come  afterwards,  and  bring  the  little  garments 
they  had  made. 


Lily's  New  Resolve,  221 

"Let's  see  who  finished  her  work  first," 
said  Gracie.  "  Dora,  when  did  you  finish 
yours  ?  " 

"  Saturday  morning,"  answered  Dora. 

"  Pooh  !  "  said  Gracie,  "  how  long  you  were. 
Nellie,  when  was  yours  done  ?  " 

"  Last  night,"  answered  Nellie  ;  "  and  I  was 
very  glad  I  had  not  taken  a  petticoat,  for  I 
could  not  have  finished  it." 

Gracie  only  looked  her  contempt,  but  she 
did  that  so  plainly  that  it  might  have  placed 
her  in  the  ranks  of  the  anti-politers  quite  as 
readily  as  rude  and  scornful  words  could  have 
done.     Nellie  felt  it,  colored,  and  looked  hurt. 

"  Belle,  when  did  you  finish  yours  ?  " 

"  I  perfer  not  to  tell  you,"  answered  Belle, 
with  magnificence. 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  Gracie. 

"  If  your  guilty  conscience  don't  tell  you, 
it's  no  use  for  me  to  speak  about  it,"  replied 
Belle,  with  well-deserved  severity,  supposed 
to  be  kept  within  the  bounds  of  courteousness. 

Gracie  gave  her  head  a  little  toss,  as  much 


222  Lily  JVorris'  Enemy. 

as  to  say  that  Belle's  opinion  was  quite 
beneath  her  notice;  but  that  her  "  guilty  con- 
science" did  accuse  her"  was  to  be  seen  from 
the  fact  that  she  questioned  no  more  of  her 
classmates,  but  said  conceitedly, — 

"  I  finished  my  petticoat  the  very  Saturday 
after  I  took  it ; "  and  then  looked  about  her 
for  the  applause  which  no  one  had  the  mind 
to  offer. 

It  was  strange  that  the  frequency  of  the 
disappointments  of  this  nature  which  she 
received  did  not  teach  Gracie  that  those  who 
sought  the  most  eagerly  for  food  for  their  own 
vanity  were  not  the  most  apt  to  receive  it; 
but  her  insatiable  self-conceit  needed  some 
severe  teaching  before  it  would  lose  its  hold 
of  her,  and  such  slight  blows  as  these  were 
without  much  effect  on  the  still  increasing 
evil. 

"  I  am  sure  I  could  easily  have  made  two  if 
I  had  chosen,"  continued  Gracie.  "It  is 
nothing  so  very  great  to  make  a  petticoat  in  a 
week." 


Lily's  New  Resolve.  223 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Nellie,  who  seldom 
bore  malice,  "  I  think  it  is  pretty  well  for  little 
girls  to  make  one  in  two  weeks.  I  am  slow, 
I  know,  but  as  Lily  said,  —  poor  dear  Lily,  —  1 
am  a  steady  tortoise  after  all,  and  have  done 
my  task  in  time." 

"  Is  Lily's  petticoat  finished  ?  "  asked  Mabel. 
"  Does  any  one  know  ?  " 

No,  no  one  knew ;  but  more  than  one 
thought  it  quite  likely  that  Lily  would  be 
behindhand.  They  knew  her  ways  well.  But, 
before  they  had  time  for  much  more  conversa- 
tion on  the  subject,  Miss  Ashton  came  in,  and 
the  business  of  the  day  began. 

Twelve  o'clock  came,  bringing  with  it 
Maggie  and  Bessie,  who  also  brought  each 
the  little  garment  she  had  completed ;  and, 
school  being  at  an  end,  the  children  gathered 
about  Miss  Ashton  to  have  her  verdict  on 
their  work. 

Belle's  bag  was  the  first  to  be  examined, 
and  Miss  Ashton  pronounced  it  very  well  done 
for  a  little  girl  who  was  but  just  learning  to 


224  Lily  Norrif  Enemy, 

sew.  There  were  some  long  and  crooked 
stitches,  it  is  true ;  but  they  were  tight  and 
close,  and  showed  that  she  had  taken  great 
pains.  So  did  Bessie's ;  and  Mabel's  also 
was  considered  a  success.  Carrie  Ransom's 
did  not  show  quite  as  much  care,  but  it  would 
pass.  So  much  for  the  bags  made  by  the  four 
lesser  children ;  and  now  Miss  Ashton  turned 
to  the  petticoats. 

"  I  have  here  a  note  from  Lily,"  she  said, 
"  which  I  shall  read  first.  She  sent  it  to  me 
this  morning,  with  her  work,  and  a  request 
that  I  would  tell  you  what  it  contained." 

"  Oh,"  said  Gracie,  "  I  suppose  she  has  not 
finished  her  petticoat.  She  never  does  things 
when  she  ought  to,  and  she  is  always  behind- 
hand. I  finished  my  petticoat  on  the  first 
Saturday,  Miss  Ashton." 

Now,  would  you  not  have  thought  that 
Gracie  disliked  Lily,  and  was  glad  to  have 
the  chance  of  showing  up  her  faults  ?  But  it 
was  not  really  so  ;  for  if  you  had  asked  Gracie, 
she  would  have  told  you  that  she  was  fond  of 


Lily's  Nevj  Resolve.  225 

Lily,  and  thought  her  on  the  whole  a  very  good 
little  girl.  But  Gracie's  habit  of  comparing 
herself  with  others  to  their  disadvantage  gave 
her,  not  only  the  appearance  of  great  conceit, 
but  also  of  constant  fault-finding  with  her 
companions. 

Miss  Ashton  took  no  notice  of  her  speech, 
but  opened  the  envelope,  and  took  out  the 
note,  which  Mrs.  Norris  had  written  at  Lily's 
dictation. 

"  Miss  Ashton,"  repeated  Gracie,  "  I  finished 
my  petticoat  Saturday  before  last,  every  stitch 
of  it." 

"  Yery  well,"  said  Miss  Ashton,  coolly,  and 
without  farther  attention,  read  aloud :  — 

"  Dear  Miss  Ashton,  —  I  think  I  ought  to 
tell  you  that  I  did  not  do  all  my  petticoat  my- 
self, and  it  was  not  all  because  of  my  hurting 
myself,  but  because  I  did  not  do  it  in  good 
time,  but  put  off  until  I  had  left  a  good  task 
for  the  last  day,  when  my  eye  was  so  hurt  I 
could  not  sew.  But  dear  Maggie  had  her's  all 
16 


226  Lily  Norris*  Enemy, 

done,  and  so  she  had  time  for  a  kindness,  and 
she  finished  mine ;  but  I  thought  I  ought  to 
do  myself  the  mortification  of  telling  you 
about  it,  for  fear  you  and  the  other  children 
should  give  me  praise  I  did  not  deserve. 

"  And  now  I  am  very  sorry  I  was  so  sure  of 
myself  to  be  so  certain  I  would  not  fall  into 
my  bad  habit  again,  which  I  find  is  not  cured, 
as  I  said  it  was  ;  but  I  have  to  try  very  hard 
yet.  And  I  know  the  other  children  will 
think  I  thought  myself  very  great,  and  I  am 
ashamed  of  it,  and  of  my  procrastination  too, 
dear  Miss  Ashton,  which  you  told  me  would 
give  me  great  trouble,  and  mamma  too,  and  I 
see  it.  So  please  excuse  me,  and  my  eye  and 
my  head  are  better,  thank  you  ;  but  the  doctor 
says  I  cannot  use  my  eye  for  a  good  many 
days,  and  my  head  aches  some  yet. 

"  Please  give  my  love  to  all  the  children,  and 
tell  them  to  come  and  see  me. 

"  From  your  affectionate  little  scholar, 

"Lily  Norms." 


Lily's  New  Resolve.  227 

If  Lily's  schoolmates  did  imagine  that  she 
thought  herself  "  great,"  not  one  of  them  said 
so  ;  and  the  reading  of  her  letter  was  followed 
by  many  expressions  of  affection  and  sym- 
pathy, mingled  with  admiration  for  her  straight- 
forward honesty,  which  would  not  let  her 
receive  credit  which  was  not  her  due. 

However,  when  Miss  Ashton  unfolded  the 
petticoat  sent  by  Lily,  and  examined  the  sewing, 
it  was  found  that,  wanting  though  she  might 
have  been  in  punctuality  and  industry,  Lily  cer- 
tainly deserved  praise  for  the  manner  in  which 
her  work  was  done.  It  was  extremely  neat 
and  even  for  such  a  little  girl ;  and  both  her 
own  share,  and  that  completed  by  Maggie 
Bradford  received  much  approbation  from  Miss 
Ashton. 

Maggie's  petticoat  merited  a  like  meed  of 
compliment,  and  Nellie  Ransom's  apron, 
which  came  next,  was  pronounced  remarkably 
well  done. 

"  Why,  Nellie,  my  dear,"  said  Miss  Ashton, 
looking  with  surprise  at  the  neatly  laid  gathers, 


228  Lily  JVorrzY  Enemy, 

even  hems,  and  regular  stitches,  "  is  it  possible 
that  you  did  this  all  yourself?  " 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  answered  steady,  painstaking 
Nellie,  who,  although  she  was  perhaps  less 
quick  than  any  of  her  schoolmates,  was  seldom 
or  never  behind  the  rest,  for  the  reason  that 
she  was  so  industrious  and  earnest,  —  "yes, 
ma'am.  An  apron  was  not  very  much  for  me 
to  do,  but  I  wanted  to  be  sure  and  have  it 
nicely  done." 

"  And,  indeed,  you  have,"  said  Miss  Ashton, 
still  examining  the  apron  with  pleasure.  "  I 
must  give  you  the  credit,  Nellie,  of  saying  that 
I  never  saw  a  piece  of  work  better  done  by 
any  child  of  your  age.  I  do  not  know  that  I 
I  would  have  done  it  as  well  myself." 

"  Mamma  takes  great  pains  to  teach  me  to 
sew  nicely,"  said  Nellie,  dimpling  and  flushing 
with  pleasure  at  her  teacher's  praise. 

"  And  you  must  have  taken  great  pains  to 
learn,  my  dear,"  said  Miss  Ashton,  laying  her 
hand  on  that  of  the  modest  little  girl. 

Two  or  three  others  received  their  share  of 


Lily's  New  Resolve,  229 

praise,  some  more,  some  less,  according  to 
their  merits,  though  all  were  fairly  done ;  and 
then  Miss  Ashton  came  to  Grade's  petticoat. 

That  it  gave  her  far  less  satisfaction  than  the 
rest  of  the  little  garments  had  done,  was 
plainly  to  be  seen  by  her  countenance,  as  she 
examined  it. 

"  Why,  Grade,  my  dear,"  she  said,  "  is  it 
possible  that  you  can  sew  no  better  than  this  ? 
No,  it  is  not ;  for  I  have  seen  your  work  before, 
and  know  that  you  can  do  better  if  you  choose. 
Why,  Gracie,  the  stitches  are  not  half  as  neat 
as  those  of  the  very  little  girls,  and  this  band 
will  not  hold  at  all.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to 
give  in  such  work  as  this.  See  here  ; "  and  as 
she  drew  the  stitches  slightly  apart,  with  not 
half  the  strain  that  would  come  upon  them  in 
the  wearing,  they  parted  and  ripped,  showing 
with  what  extreme  carelessness  the  work  had 
been  done. 

I  do  not  think  Miss  Ashton  would  have  said 
as  much  to  any  other  one  of  her  little  scholars ; 
but  she   thought   that   this  mortification  and 


230  Lily  JVorrz's'  Enemy. 

blow  to  her  self-conceit  would  do  Grade  no 
harm. 

"  My  dear,"  she  continued,  "  you  have  not 
taken  time  enough  to  do  your  work  properly. 
Another  time,  better  less  haste  and  more  care, 
Gracie.  I  shall  have  to  take  out  almost  the 
whole  of  this,  and  do  it  over  myself,  for  I 
should  be  ashamed  that  our  little  orphans 
should  have  the  example  of  such  work.  Your 
mother  was  away,  I  know,  so  that  you  could 
not  go  to  her  for  help ;  but  could  you  not  ask 
some  other  person  to  show  you  how  it  should 
be  done  ? " 

"  I  should  think  I  might  know  how  to  make 
a  petticoat,"  said  Gracie,  rather  saucily. 

"  It  seems  you  do  not,"  replied  Miss  Ashton, 
gravely.  "  As  I  must  do  this  over,  you  cannot 
expect  that  it  should  be  given  in  as  your 
work,  Gracie." 

Gracie  tossed  her  head,  and  looked  very 
angry,  muttering,  she  "did  not  care,"  then 
burst  into  tears,  saying  it  was  "  too  bad,"  and 
"  real  mean,"  and  she  knew  "  it  was  just  as 


Lily's  New  Resolve.  231 

good  as  the  rest,  only  Miss  Ashton  never 
would  think  she  did  any  thing  fit  to  be  seen," 
and  altogether  allowed  her  temper  and 
wounded  vanity  so  far  to  get  the  better  of 
her  that  Miss  Ashton  bade  her  leave  the  room. 

I  am  glad  to  say,  however,  that  a  few  mo- 
ments' solitude  and  reflection  in  the  cloak-room 
brought  her  to  her  right  senses;  and  before 
she  went  home,  she  returned  to  her  teacher, 
and  begged  her  pardon  for  the  temper  and 
disrespect  she  had  shown. 

"  But  my  work  was  finished  long  before  any 
of  the  other  children's,  Miss  Ashton,"  she  said 
once  more,  after  the  lady  had  assured  her 
she  was  forgiven,  giving  her  at  the  same  time 
a  gentle,  and,  alas !  too  oft-repeated  warning 
against  the  hold  her  besetting  sin  was  gaining 
on  her  temper  and  character. 

Miss  Ashton  shook  her  head. 

"  But  it  is  all  thrown  away,  and  worse  than 
thrown  away,  Gracie,"  she  said,  "  for  it  will 
need  more  time  for  me  to  take  it  to  pieces  and 
do  it  over  again  than  it  would  have  taken  to 


232  Lily  JVorrt's9  Enemy, 

make  it  myself  at  once.  I  can  give  you  no 
credit,  my  child,  for  striving  to  outstrip  your 
schoolmates,  merely  that  you  might  have  the 
pleasure  of  saying  that  you  had  done  so.  You 
are  severe  with  Lily  for  her  want  of  punctu- 
ality and  promptness  ;  but  too  great  haste, 
especially  when  it  springs  from  a  bad  motive, 
is  perhaps  as  bad.  And,  Gracie,  Lily  sees  and 
acknowledges  her  fault,  while  you  will  not." 

Gracie  hung  her  head,  but  she  was  none  the 
more  convinced  ;  and,  in  spite  of  her  confession, 
went  home,  thinking  herself  hardly  used,  and 
Miss  Ashton  very  unjust. 

With  the  exception  of  Gracie,  there  was 
not  one  of  the  little  work-women  whose  sewing 
was  not  at  least  passable,  and  her  garment 
tolerably  well  made  ;  and  they  were  dismissed, 
well  satisfied  with  the  praise  they  received,  and 
the  knowledge  that  their  own  self-denial  and 
effort  had  helped  those  who  were  in  need. 

Mrs.  Norris  had  begged  that  Maggie  and 
Bessie  would  come  and  see  Lily  that  afternoon, 
as  she  was  now  well  enough  to  receive  them, 


Lily's  New  Resolve.  233 

and  tell  her  all  that  had  taken  place  in  the 
morning ;  and  accordingly  they  presented 
themselves  in  Lily's  room,  bringing  with  them 
their  dolls. 

"  My  dollies  haven't  had  their  dresses 
changed  since  Saturday,  before  I  was  hurt," 
said  Lily,  at  the  sight  of  the  last-mentioned 
young  ladies.  "  Will  you  dress  them  for  me 
while  you  tell  me  about  this  morning  ?  " 

Dolls  and  dolls'  clothes  were  brought  forth, 
Lily  possessing  a  multitude  of  both  ;  and  the 
two  little  sisters  fell  to  dressing  the  neglected 
children  of  an  invalid  mamma. 

"  It  wasn't  putting  off  this  time,"  said  Lily, 
apologetically,  "  for  I  really  did  seem  to  be  so 
tired  every  time  I  tried  to  do  any  thing,  even 
play,  that  mamma  told  me  I  had  better  lie 
still." 

"  Yes,  we  know,"  said  Bessie,  "  and  even  if 
it  was  procrastination,  dolls  don't  really  suffer, 
so  I  s'pose  it's  not  much  harm  to  put  off  doing 
things  for  them.  It  don't  hurt,"  she  added 
thoughtfully,  as  she  drew  a  comb  about  three 


234  Z,ily  JVorris*  Enemy, 

inches  long  through  the  flowing  locks  of  the 
waxen  Georgianna  upon  her  lap,  —  "it  don't 
hurt  to  put  off  play  and  pleasure,  I  believe,  but 
only  duties,  and  things  that  will  do  good  to 
others." 

"  Yes,"  said  Lily,  rather  ruefully,  as  if  she 
wished  that  pleasures  and  duties  might  alike 
fall  under  the  same  head,  "  so  I  find  most 
people  think.  The  trouble  of  it,  and  what 
makes  it  so  hard  is,  that  when  a  duty  and  a 
pleasure  both  come  at  once,  it  'most  always 
seems  right  to  take  the  duty  first ;  and  I  like 
pleasure  so  much  better  than  duty  that  I 
expect  that's  the  reason  I  procrastinate  so 
often." 

"  I  believe  that's  the  case  with  most  people," 
said  Maggie,  putting  on  her  wisdom  cap  to 
suit  the  solemnity  of  the  conversation.  "  I  find 
the  human  race  generally  like  pleasure  better 
than  duty,  'specially  if  the  duty  is  very 
disagreeable,  and  the  pleasure  is  very  nice." 

"  That's  the  way  with  me,  anyhow,"  said 
Lily,  with  a  sigh,  as  she  lay  back  upon  her  sofa 


Lilfs  JVew  Resolve,  235 

pillows  once  more.  "  And  sometimes,  even 
when  the  duty  is  not  very  disagreeable,  I  feel 
like  putting  it  off,  just  because  I  know  I  ought 
to  do  it,  I  believe.  That  petticoat  was  not  so 
very  horrid  to  do,  and  yet  I  let  every  thing  put 
me  away  from  doing  it,  till  at  last  you  know 
the  consequence." 

"  Miss  Ashton  praised  your  petticoat  very 
much,  anyhow,"  said  Maggie.  "  She  said  you 
had  done  the  most  of  it,  and  it  was  all 
well  done." 

"  She  praised  Maggie's  part  too,"  said  Bessie, 
unwilling  that  her  sister  should  not  receive  her 
full  share  of  credit,  "  and  she  said  the  button- 
hole was  even  better  than  that  on  Maggie's 
own  petticoat." 

"  Practice  makes  perfect,  you  know,"  said 
Maggie.  "  Miss  Ashton  said  not  one  piece  of 
work  was  better  made  than  that  petticoat, 
except  Nellie's  apron,  and  that  was  the  best  of 
all.  Miss  Ashton  seemed  quite  surprised  at  it, 
it  was  so  very  nice.  And  I  don't  mean  to  tell 
tales  about  Gracie,  but  you  would  hear  about 


236  Lily  JVorris9  Enemy. 

it,  J  suppose,  when  you  go  back  to  school,  so 
we  may  as  well  tell  you,  'cause  you  want  to 
know  about  every  thing." 

And  between  them,  first  one  taking  up  the 
tale,  and  then  the  other,  Lily  had  soon  heard 
a  full  and  particular  account  of  all  the  occur- 
rences of  the  morning. 

"  And  did  not  any  one  say  hateful  things 
about  me  when  Miss  Ashton  read  my  letter, 
and  they  knew  I  had  not  done  what  I  was  so 
sure  I  would  do  ?  "  asked  Lily. 

"  No  indeed,"  said  Bessie.  "  We  wouldn't 
have  listened  to  them  if  they  had  wanted  to  ; 
but  then  no  one  would  say  an  unkind  thing 
about  you  when  you  were  so  honest  and  true, 
Lily.  They  were  only  sorry  for  you,  and  didn't 
seem  to  think  you  were  naughty  one  bit." 

"  But  I  was,"  said  Lily,  "  and  I'm  never 
going  to  boast  myself  again,  for  I  do  feel  too 
ashamed  when  I  think  how  sure  I  was 
that  I  would  do  so  much.  I  don't  believe  I 
ever  will  cure  myself  of  procrastination,  do 
you?" 


Lily's  Nezv  Resolve.  237 

"  Why,  yes,"  answered  Bessie,  "  if  you  try 
enough." 

"  I'm  sure  I  did  try,"  said  Lily,  u  but  it  was 
no  use.  If  I  did  not  forget  so  easily,  I 
think  I  would  not  have  so  much  trouble  from 
procrastination  ;  but,  you  see,  sometimes  I  leave 
a  thing  just  for  one  moment,  at  least  I  mean 
to  come  back  in  a  moment,  and  then  I  never 
think  any  thing  more  about  it.  That  was  the 
way  the  puppy  found  my  petticoat  lying  on  the 
floor,  and  dragged  it  about  till  it  had  to  be 
washed  before  I  could  sew  on  it,  and  then  it 
was  too  late." 

"  I  used  to  be  just  as  careless  as  that,"  said 
Maggie ;  u  and  though  mamma  says  I  have 
improved  a  great  deal,  and  am  pretty  neat  and 
careful  now,  yet  I  find  it  hard  work  still, 
and  I  have  to  make  a  rule  for  myself  not  to 
leave  a  thing  one  moment  after  I  know  I  ought 
to  do  it,  or  else  I  am  almost  sure  to  forget. 
I  don't  always  keep  that  rule  yet,"  she  added, 
rather  remorsefully,  "  but  it  helps  me,  and 
makes  me  better  than  I  used  to  be." 


238  Lily  JVorris'  Enemy. 

"  Is  that  what  cured  you  of  carelessness  ? 
for  I  don't  think  you  are  much  careless  now," 
said  Lily. 

"  Yes,"  said  Maggie,  slowly,  "  that  —  and 
—  and  "  —  here  she  fell  into  a  sudden  fit  of 
bashfulness  at  her  own  confession,  and  Bessie 
had  to  help  her  out  of  it. 

"  Partly  that,  and  partly  because  she  asked 
Jesus  to  help  her,"  said  the  little  sister. 
"  And  He  did,  'cause  He  always  does  if  we 
really  and  truly  ask  Him.  Did  you  ever  ask 
Him  to  help  you,  Lily  ?  " 

"  What,  about  putting  off  ? "  said  Lily. 
"Why,  no,  I  never  thought  much  about  it  — 
and  —  besides  —  it  seems  such  a  queer  tiling 
to  pray  about,  and  to  ask  Jesus  to  help  you  in. 
It  is  not  a  sin,  you  know.  It  does  make  me 
sin  sometimes,"  she  added,  thoughtfully,  as 
she  recalled  various  naughtinesses  into  which 
her  sad  habit  had  led  her.  "Oh,  if  you  knew 
something  it  had  made  me  do,  you  would  think 
I  was  too  horrid  ! "  She  was  thinking  of  the 
way  in  which  she  had  spoken  to  her  mother 
but  a  few  days  since. 


JLily^s  Aew  Resolve.  239 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Bessie,  tenderly,  "  is  n't 
that  a  reason  for  asking  Him  ?  I  don't  b'lieve 
Jesus  thinks  any  thing  is  no  matter  if  it  makes 
us  do  something  that  is  wrong,  and  I  don't 
b'lieve  He  thinks  even  a  bad  habit  is  a  little 
thing,  and  I'm  sure  He'll  help  you  if  you  only 
ask  Him." 

"  Sometimes  when  I  was  praying,  I  have 
thought  maybe  I  had  better  ask  Jesus  not  to 
let  me  put  off,"  said  Lily,  "  but  I  did  not  think 
much  about  it,  and  it  hardly  seemed  worth 
while,  and  I  generally  thought  I  could  do 
it  some  other  time." 

Lily  said  these  last  words  in  rather  a  shame- 
faced manner,  as  if  she  were  mortified  to 
recollect  and  confess  that  she  had  allowed  her 
failing  to  come  even  between  her  and  the 
Great  Helper. 

"  But  you  will  ask  Him  now,  won't  you  ?  " 
asked  Bessie  anxiously. 

"  Yes,  I  will,"  said  Lily  earnestly,  and  as 
if  she  really  meant  it ;  and  I  am  glad  to  say 
that  she  kept  her  resolution,  and  "  put  off  " 


240  Lily  JVofris'  Enemy. 

no  longer  asking  the  help  which  could  not,  and 
would  not  fail  her.  And  receiving  what  she 
sought,  as  all  shall  do  who  seek  it  in  truth, 
and  in  the  right  spirit,  and  continuing  also  to 
strive  with  the  temptation  of  the  moment 
which  bids  her  postpone  the  duty  before  her, 
our  Lily  is  gaining  the  victory  over  the  enemy 
which  brought  her  into  so  much  trouble,  and 
had  more  than  once  led  her  so  far  astray. 


Cambridge :  Press  of  John  Wilson  and  Son. 


